No.218-219. 




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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



MAYNARD'S ENGLISH CLASSIC SERIES.— No. 218-219 



THE 



SONG OF HIAWATHA 



BY ^ 

HENRY WADS WORTH LONGFELLOW 



WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 




NEW YORK 
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CRAIGIE HOUSE, LONGFELLOW'S HOME, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



Life of Longfellow. 



Those scientists who hold that genius is a morbid distil- 
lation from a tainted ancestry would be puzzled to account 
for Longfellow's undeniable genius. He was descended 
from two Yorkshire families, whose natural healthiness of 
mind and body had been developing for several generations 
in the bracing air of New England. The Longfellows, his 
father's family, were a sturdy race, who had always done 
their duty without inquiring into their metaphysical mo- 
tives fordoing it ; and his mother's family, the Wadsworths, 
traced their descent to John Alden, — as wholesome an old 
Puritan warrior as could well be found. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet, was born at 
Portland, Maine, February 27th, 1807. Like Emerson and 
Hawthorne, he was a quiet boy, fond of books, and averse 
tp taking part in the sports of his schoolfellows. His 

3 



4 LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 

nerves shrank from all loud noises. There is a tradition of 
his having begged a servant on a glorious Fourth of July 
to put cotton in his ears to deaden the roar of the cannon, 
and in later life one of his book-plates bore the motto 
" Non Clamor, sed Amor." 

At the age of fifteen this shy, studious lad was sent to 
Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine, after Portland 
Academy had taught him all it knew. He came prepared 
to make the most of his opportunities, and after four years 
of hard work graduated with distinction, and with the 
promise of a professorship after a year of travel had 
broadened his mental horizon. 

The next summer found Longfellow at Paris with aid 
Europe before him. He wandered through England, 
France, Germany, Italy, Holland, and Spain ; everywhere 
studying the languages, and absorbing the rich associations 
of foreign places. His impressions of what he saw were in 
later years embodied in the prose works Outre-Met and 
Hyperion. On his return he at once assumed the duties of 
his professorship, finding little time for literature. In 1831 
he married an acquaintance of former years, Mary Storer 
Poller, with whom he lived most happily until her prema- 
ture death in 1835. In 1834 a pleasant surprise came in the 
shape of an offer of the Chair of Modern Languages at 
Harvard, an offer which Longfellow waL only too glad to 
accept. The new professor's official duties were light, and 
he had leisure for the literary pursuits which had ever 
been his delight. Hyperion, a romance in two volumes, 
and The Voices of the Night, a volume of poems containing 
"The Reaper and the Flowers," and "The Psalm ©f Life," 
were published in 1839. Two years later appeared Ballads 
and other Poems, containing the " Wreck of the Hesperus," 
"The Village Blacksmith," and "Excelsior"; and in the 
following year Poems on Slavery. This quiet life of work 



LIFE OF LONGFELLOW 5 

was interrupted in 1842 by a visit to Dickens in London, 
but speedily resumed. In July, 1843, Longfellow married 
his second wife, a Miss Appleton, whose acquaintance he had 
made for the first time during his Swiss tour. Longfellow's 
ambition was to be the national poet of America, — an ambi- 
tion to which he was spurred on by Margaret Fuller, prob- 
ably the most intellectual woman of the time in America. She 
called his poems exotic flowers, with no smell of American 
soil about them. The outcome of this criticism was the 
writing of Evangeline, followed later by Hiawatha and 
Miles Stand ish, all refreshingly American in flavor. Hia- 
watha, a poem founded on Indian myths, is cast in the 
form of the Kalevala, the ancient epic of Finland, with 
which Longfellow had become familiar in his studies of 
the Scandinavian languages. The Courtship of Miles 
Stan dish pictures the deeds and sufferings of the early 
Plymouth colony, a recital enlivened only by the description 
of the courting of Priscilla by proxy. It is not to be un- 
derstood that Longfellow's fame rested on these American 
poems alone : he had already written a quantity of poetry 
which had established his reputation as a poet, but it was 
on these that he based his claim to be considered the 
national poet of America. 

In 1854, after about eighteen years of academic work, 
Longfellow felt warranted in resigning his Harvard profes- 
sorship, to be free for purely literary pursuits. His home at 
Cambridge was the large Craigie House, which could boast 
of having once been the headquarters of Washington. 
Here, surrounded by a brilliant circle of friends, he lived in 
all the flush of a happy, successful life until 1861, — that 
fatal year, — when his peace was invaded by a frightful 
calamity: Mrs. Longfellow, while playing with her children, 
set fire to her dress, and was mortally injured by the flames. 
The poet never recovered from the shock of this bereave- 



X) LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 

ment, although he continued his work with unabated vigor 
until the time of his death in March 1882. 

After Tennyson, Longfellow has been the most popular 
poet of his day. Some critics have said that had Tennyson 
never written the Idylls, or In Memoriam, his inferiority 
to Longfellow would have been manifest, but the power 
displayed in these high realms of poetry was quite beyond 
Longfellow's reach. His range is domestic. He lacks the 
power of depicting deep passion, or of robing purely imag- 
inative subjects with ideal grace and color. The forces 
necessary to the execution of an heroic poem are not his, 
but on the other hand, in such a description of quiet love 
and devoted patience as he gives us in Evangeline, Long- 
fellow may be ranked with Ihe greatest of poets. 



Chronological List of the Principal Works 
of Longfellow. 



Coplas de Mauri que . 1833 

Outre-Mer 1835 

Hyperion ..... 1839 
•Voices of the Night . 1839 
Ballads and other Poems 1841 
Poems on Slavery . . 1842 
Spanish Student . . . 1843 
Poets and Poetry of 

Europe 1845 

Belfry of Bruges . . . 1846 
Evangeline .... 1847 

Kavanagh 1849 

Seaside and the Fireside 1850 
Golden Legend . . . 1851 
Hiawatha . . . . . 1855 
Miles Standish . . . 1858 



Tales of a Wayside Inn 1863 
Flower-De-Luce . . . 1867 
Divine Comedy of Dante . 

Alighieri . . . 1867-70 
New England Tragedies 1868 
Divine Tragedy . . .1871 
Three Books of Song . 1872 

Christ us 1872 

Aftermath 1873 

Hanging of the Crane . 1874 
Masque of Pandora . . 1875 

Keramos 1878 

Ultima Thule. . . . 1880 
In the Harbor [Ultima 

Thule, Pt. ii.] ." . . 1882 
Michael Angelo . . . 1884 



Critical Opinions. 

Ciitld of New England, and trained by her best influences; 
of a temperament singularly sweet and serene, and with 
the sturdy rectitude of his race ; refined and softened by 
wide contact with other lands and many men ; born in 
prosperity, accomplished in all literatures, and himself a 
literary artist of consummate elegance, — he was the fine 
flower of the Puritan stock under its changed modern con- 
ditions. Out of strength had come forth sweetness. The 
grim iconoclast, "humming a surly hymn," had issued in 
the Christian gentleman. Captain Miles Standish had risen 
into Sir Philip Sidney. The austere morality that relentlessly 
ruled the elder New England reappeared in the genius of 
this singer in the most gracious and captivating form. . . . 
The foundations of our distinctive literature were largely 
laid in New England, and they rest upon morality. Literary 
New England had never a trace of literary Bohemia. The 
most illustrious group, and the earliest, of American authors 
and scholars and literary men, the Boston and Cambridge 
group of the last generation, — Channing, the two Danas, 
Sparks, Everett, Bancroft, Ticknor, Prescott, Norton, Rip- 
ley, Palfrey, Emerson, Parker, Hawthorne, Longfellow, 
Holmes, Whittier, Agassiz, Lowell, Motley, — have been 
sober and industrious citizens, of whom Judge Sewall would 
have approved. Their lives as well as their works have 
ennobled literature. They have illustrated the moral sanity 
of genius. 

Longfellow shares this trait with them all. It is the 
moral purity of his verse which at once charms the heart ; 
and in his first most famous poem, the " Psalm of Life," it 
is the direct inculcation of a moral purpose. Those who 
insist that literary art, like all other art, should not concern 
itself positively with morality, must reflect that the heart 

7 



8 CRITICAL OPINIONS. 

of this age has been touched as truly by Longfellow, how- 
ever differently, as that of any time by its master-poet. 
This, indeed, is his peculiar distinction. Among the great 
poetic names of the century in English literature, Burns, in 
a general way, is the poet of love ; Wordsworth, of lofty 
contemplation of nature ; Byron, of passion ; Shelley, of 
aspiration ; Keats, of romance ; Scott, of heroic legend ; 
and not less, and quite as distinctively, Longfellow, of the 
domestic affections. He is the poet of the household, of 
the fireside, of the universal home feeling. The infinite 
tenderness and patience, the pathos and the beauty, of daily 
life, of familiar emotion, and the common scene, — these are 
the significance of that verse whose beautiful and simple 
melody, softly murmuring for more than forty years, made 
the singer the most widely beloved of living men. — George 
William Curtis. 

He is in a high sense a literary man ; and next a literary 
artist ; and thirdly, a literary artist in the domain of poetry. 
It would not be true to say that' his art is of the intensest 
kind or most magical potency ; but it is art, and imbues 
whatever he performs. In so far as a literary artist in 
poetry is a poet, Longfellow is a poet, and should (to the 
silencing of all debates and demurs) be freely confessed and 
handsomely installed as such. How far he is a poet in a 
further sense than this remains to be determined. 

Having thus summarily considered "the actual quality 
of the work" as derived from the endowments of the 
worker, I next proceed to "the grounds upon which the 
vast popularity of the poems has rested. " One main and 
in itself all-sufficient ground has just been stated : that the 
sort of intelligence of which Longfellow is so conspicuous 
an example includes pre-eminently " a great susceptibility to 
the spirit of the age." The man who meets the spirit of the 
age half-way will be met half-way by that ; will be adopted 
as a favorite child, and warmly reposited in the heart. Such 
has been the case with Longfellow. In sentiment, in percep- 



CRITICAL OPINIONS. 9 

tion, in culture, in selection, in utterance, be represents, 
with adequate and even influential but not overwhelm- 
ing force, the tendencies and adaptabilities of the time ; he 
is a good type of the " bettermost," not the exceptionally 
very best, minds of the central or later-central period of the 
nineteenth century ; and, having the gift of persuasive 
speech and accomplished art, he can enlist the sympathies 
of readers who approach his own level of intelligence, and 
can dominate a numberless multitude of those who belong 
to lower planes, but who share none the less his own general 
conceptions and aspirations. 

Evangeline, whatever may be its shortcomings and blem- 
ishes, takes so powerful a hold of the feelings that the 
fate which would at last merge it in oblivion could only be 
a very hard and even a perverse one. Who that has read 
it has ever forgotten it ? or in whose memory does it rest as 
other than a long-drawn sweetness and sadness that has 
become a portion, and a purifying portion, of the experi- 
ences of the heart ? — William Michael Rossetti. 

Mr. Longfellow was easily first amongst his own coun- 
trymen as a poet, and in certain directions as a prose 
writer ; but he was also a good deal more than this. There 
has been a tendency to doubt whether he was entitled to a 
place in the first rank of poets ; and the doubt, although 
we are not disposed to think it well founded, is perhaps 
intelligible. Some of the qualities which gave his verse 
its charm and its very wide popularity and influence also 
worked, not to perplex — for the essence of his style was 
simplicity — but perhaps to vex, the critical mind. There 
is no need to dwell now upon various pieces of verse by 
Mr. Longfellow, which no doubt owed much of their fame 
to qualities that were less prominent in some of his produc- 
tions which perhaps were, not unnaturally, less popular. 
. . . But it may be said as a general rule, that when Long- 
fellow was commonplace in sentiment he was far from 



10 CRITICAL OPINIONS. 

commonplace in expression. His verse was full of grace, 
and, if one may use the word in this connection, of tact ; 
and it cannot perhaps be said to have been want of tact 
that prevented him from correcting the one odd blunder 
that he made after it had gone forth to the world and be- 
come somewhat surprisingly popular. That he could be 
and generally was much the reverse of commonplace, will 
hardly be denied by any one who has made a real study of 
his work. He had a keen observation, a vivid fancy, a 
scholarlike touch, a not too common gentillesse, and a seem- 
ingly easy command of rhyme and rhythm. . . . 

When the qualities which we have touched upon are 
united in a man who has come before the world as a poet, 
evidently in consequence of the promptings of his nature, 
and not of malice prepense and with carefully devised 
affectation, it seems somewhat rash to deny him the high 
place which the great bulk of his admirers would assign to 
him, because he has, perhaps too frequently, lapsed hnX) 
thought, if not into diction, which may seem unworthy of 
such a writer at his best. 

Nor, perhaps, is it fair in this regard to leave out of 
account that Longfellow began his poetic career as the 
poet — the poet par excellence — of a country which had its 
literature to make. . . . His position as the spokesman in 
poetry of a young country had its advantages and its draw- 
backs. He was more free from the disadvantages of critical 
severity and opposition than an English writer could well 
have been ; but such a freedom has its dangers, and to this 
it might not be too fanciful to trace the lapses of which 
some mention has been made. That it was to these lapses 
that he owed a considerable portion of his influence with 
the mass of the reading or devouring public in England 
was not his fault ; and this fact should not, we think, be 
allowed to obscure in any way the exceptionally fine quali- 
ties which he undoubtedly possessed and cultivated." 

—London Saturday Renew. 



CRITICAL OPINIONS. 11 

The essence of Longfollow's writings might be defined 
thus : domestic morals, with a romantic coloring, a warm 
glow of sentiment, and a full measure of culture. The 
morals are partly religious, hardly at all sectarian, pure, 
sincere, and healthy. The romance is sufficiently genuine, 
yet a trine factitious, nicely apprehended rather than in- 
tense. The sentiment is heart-felt, but a little ordinary — 
by the very fact of its being ordinary all the more widely 
and fully responded to — at times with a somewhat false 
ring, or at least an obvious shallowness ; right-minded 
sentiment, which the author perceives to be creditable to 
himself, and which he aims, as if by an earnest and 
"penetrated" tone of voice, to make impressive to his 
reader. The culture is broad and general ; not that of a 
bookworm or student, but of a receptive and communicative 
mind, of average grasp and average sympathies. . . . 
Longfellow had much clearness and persuasiveness, some 
force, and a great aptitude for "improving the occasion ;" 
but he had not that imaginative strength, that spacious 
vision, that depth of personal individuality which impress 
somewhat painfully at first, but which alone supply in the 
long-run the great startling and rousing forces that possess 
a permanent influence. — London Athenceum. 

Longfellow has a perfect command of that expression 
which results from restraining rather than cultivating flu- 
ency ; and his manner is adapted to his theme. He rarely, 
if ever, mistakes emotions for conceptions. His words are 
often pictures of his thought. He selects with great deli- 
cacy and precision the exact phrase which best expresses or 
suggests his idea. He colors his style with the skill of a 
painter. The warm flush and bright tints, as well as the 
most evanescent hues, of language he uses with admirable 
discretion. In that higher department of his art, that of so 
combining his words and images that they make music to 
the soul as well as to the ear, and convey not only his feel- 
ings and thoughts, but also the very tone and condition of 



12 CRITICAL OPINIONS. 

the soul in which they have being, he likewise excels. . . • 
. . . His imagination, in the sphere of its activity, is al- 
most perfect in its power to shape in visible forms, or to 
suggest, by cunning verbal combinations, the feeling or 
thought he desires to express ; but it lacks the strength and 
daring, and the wide sweep, which characterize the imagi- 
nation of such poets as Shelley. He has little of the unrest 
and frenzy of the bard. We know, in reading him, that he 
will never miss his mark ; that he will risk nothing ; that 
he will aim to do only that which he feels he can do well. 
An air of repose, of quiet power, is around his compositions. 
He rarely loses sight of common interests and sympathies. 
He displays none of the stinging earnestness, the vehement 
sensibility, the gusts of passion, which characterize poets 
of the impulsive class. His spiritualism is not seen in wild 
struggles after an ineffable Something, for which earth can 
afford but imperfect symbols, and of which even abstract 
words can suggest little knowledge. He appears perfectly 
satisfied with his work. Like his own "Village Black- 
smith," he retires every night with the feeling that some- 
thing has been attempted, that something has been done. 
. . . His sense of beauty, though uncommonly vivid, is not 
the highest of which the mind is capable. He has little 
perception of its mysterious spirit ; of that beauty, of which 
all physical loveliness is but the shadow, which awes and 
thrills the soul into which it enters, and lifts the imagina- 
tion into regions " to which the heaven of heavens is but a 
veil." His mind never appears oppressed, nor his sight 
dimmed, by its exceeding glory. He feels and loves, and 
creates what is beautiful ; but he hymns no reverence, he 
pays no adoration, to the Spirit of Beauty. He would 
never exclaim with Shelley, "0 awful Loveliness!" — E. P. 
Whipple. 



CRITICAL OPINIONS 13 

" Hiawatha is Longfellow's most aboriginal and ' Ameri- 
can' book. The vague, childlike mythology of the Indian 
tribes, with its anthropomorphic sense of the brotherhood 
between men, animals, and the forms of inanimate nature, 
he took from Schoolcraft's "Algic Researches." He fixed 
forever in a skillfully chosen poetic form the more inward 
and imaginative part of Indian character, as Cooper had 
given permanence to its external and active side." — Beers. 




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INTRODUCTION 

It is said that the first suggestion of " Hiawatha" came 
from one of Longfellow's Harvard pupils. This young 
man had spent several months among the Indians on the 
plains, and he repeated to the poet some of the Indian 
legends, begging that they be made the subject of a 
poem. 

Whether or not this story is true, it is certain that for 
several years before he wrote " Hiawatha "Longfellow had 
been interested in Indian legends and had sought among 
them material for a poem. His interest in the subject had 
been increased by his acquaintance with Kah-ge-ga-gali- 
bowh, an Ojibway chief, wdio lectured in Boston in 1849 on 
11 The Religion, Poetry, and Eloquence of the Indian." 
Longfellow also read many books about Indian life, espe- 
cially the entertaining but unscholarly works of School- 
craft, Catlin, and Heckewelder. 

At first the poet looked about for some one legend which 
would afford him a subject, but finally, as his diary tells 
us, on June 22, 1854, he hit upon a plan which seemed to 
him the right and indeed the only one. This w T as to weave 
the legends together in one whole, using the meter of the 
" Kalevala," an old Finnish poem. 

From Schoolcraft's " Algic Researches," a collection of 
Algonquin folk-stories, Longfellow selected such scenes and 
incidents as he desired, and gave them not in an epical 
way, but as a series of events in the life of an Indian hero, 
Manabozho. He thought first of calling his poem " Mana- 
bozho," but later he decided to use the more euphonic 
name " Hiawatha," which he erroneously took to be another 
name for Manabozho. He laid the scene of the poem 

15 



16 INTRODUCTION 

among the Ojibways, on the southern shore of Lake 
Superior. 

The novelty, both in subject and meter, of this poetical 
venture occasioned Longfellow many misgivings. Even 
when proof-sheets were coining in he felt that he was 
" growing idiotic" about the poem, and could not tell 
whether it was good or bad. 

"The Song of Hiawatha," begun June 25, 1854, was 
finished March 29, 1855, and was published November 10. 

Though abused and parodied, it speedily won wide 
popularity, and many critics assign it the first rank among 
Longfellow's poems. Unfounded charges of plagiarism 
were brought against him. He had laid no claim to 
originality of incident or meter. In his notes to ' 4 Hia- 
watha " he had acknowledged his indebtedness to School- 
craft, nor did he make any secret of the fact that the 
meter was that of the " Kalevela." 



THE METER 

The " Kalevala," like all older Finnish poems, was 
written in trochaic tetrameter — that is, each line is made of 
four accented syllables, each followed by an unaccented 
one. In place of rhyme there are in the " Kalevala " two 
forms of elaboration to satisfy the ear — alliteration, or repe- 
tition of sound at the beginning of words, which is a char- 
acteristic of old Norse poetry; and parallelism, which is 
reduplication of a line or part of a line, sometimes in 
slightly varied form. Parallelism is characteristic of 
primitive poetry, and is found in Indian as well as Finnish 
poems. Longfellow, using this trochaic tetrameter, dis- 
regarded alliteration, but retained parallelism. 

M Downward through the evening twilight 
In the days that are forgotten, 
In the nnremembered ages; 
From the full moon fell Nokomis, 
Fell the beautiful Nokoniis." 



INTRODUCTION 17 

TIIE MYTHICAL HIAWATHA OR MANABOZHO 

The hero of " The Song of Hiawatha " is an Algonquin 
hero called Manabozho, Michabou, or the Great Hare. 
Parkinan says: " As each species of animal has its arche- 
type or king, so, among the Algonquins, Manabozho is 
king of all these animal kings. Tradition is diverse as to 
his origin. According to the most current belief, his father 
was the West Wind, and his mother a great-granddaughter 
of the Moon. His character is worthy of such a parentage. 
Sometimes he is a wolf, a bird, or a gigantic hare, sur- 
rounded by a court of quadrupeds; sometimes he appears 
in human shape, majestic in stature and wondrous in 
endowment, a mighty magician, a destroyer of serpents 
and evil manitous; sometimes he is a vain and treacherous 
imp, full of childish whims and petty trickery, the butt 
and victim of men, beasts, and spirits. His powers of 
transformation are without limit; his curiosity and malice 
are insatiable; and of the numberless legends of which he is 
the hero the greater part are as trivial as they are inco- 
herent. It does not appear that Manabozho was ever an 
object of worship: yet, despite his absurdity, tradition 
declares him to be chief among the Manitous; in short, the 
Great Spirit." 

Longfellow rejects many puerilities and absurdities, but 
he ascribes to his hero no trait or adventure unwarranted 
by Indian tradition. He follows the legends which repre- 
sent Manabozho as a messenger of the Great Spirit, sent in 
the character of a wise man or prophet. According to 
these legends, he came with the attributes of humanity as 
well as with the power of performing miraculous deeds. 
He adapted himself perfectly to Indian manners and 
customs, took a wife, built a lodge, hunted, fished, sang 
war- and medicine-songs, had friends and foes. He waged 
war with monsters, performed the most extravagant and 
heroic feats, suffered a catastrophe like Jonah's, and sur- 
vived a general deluge. Such was the tradition as Long- 
fellow received it. But it must be remembered that, 
before it came to Schoolcraft, it had probably been insen- 



18 INTRODUCTION 

sibly modified and colored by the century and a half of 
Indian contact, direct and indirect, with Christianity. 

THE HISTORICAL HIAWATHA 

Schoolcraft, Longfellow's authority, confounded the 
mythical Manabozho with Hiawatha, an historical char- 
acter. For there was a real Hiawatha. Of him Dr. Horatio 
Hale says: " Though actually an historical personage, and 
not of very ancient date, of whose life and deeds many 
memorials remain, he has been confused with two Indian 
divinities, the one Iroquois, the other Algonquin, and his 
history has been distorted and obscured almost beyond 
recognition. Through the cloud of mythology which has 
enveloped his memory, the genius of Longfellow has dis- 
cerned something of his real character, and has made his 
name at least a household word wherever the English 
language is spoken/' 

Hiawatha was an Onondaga of high rank who planned 
a league or confederacy which, including the Five Nations 
first, was gradually to embrace all the Indian tribes and to 
abolish war. Each Nation was to retain its own council 
and management of local affairs, and the general control 
was to be exercised by a federal senate of representatives 
from each nation. This scheme was opposed by Atotarho, 
the warlike chief of the Onondagas, and Hiawatha took 
refuge in the country*of the Mohawks. His flight is to the 
Five Nations what the flight of Mahomet from Mecca to 
Medina is to the votaries of Islam. It is the turning point 
of their history. Hiawatha found a congenial spirit in Deka- 
nawidah, a Mohawk chief, who assisted him to form the 
league of the Five Nations. Tradition says that after the 
formation of the league Hiawatha devoted himself to clear- 
ing obstructions from the streams, making them roadways 
between the Nations. 

After the Revolution the wampum records were carried 
with the migrating tribes to Canada and the West, and the 
tribes-people left behind gradually confounded Hiawatha, 



INTRODUCTION 19 

the statesman and benefactor, with Taonhiawagi or Ta- 
oun-ya-watha, the Iroquois deity who presided over fish- 
eries and hunting grounds, and with Manabozho, an 
Ojibway deity. They ascribe to him labors resembling 
those of Hercules, and later legends give him an apotheosis, 
representing him as ascending to heaven in his white 
canoe. 

Concerning the mythical hero whom Schoolcraft con- 
founded with the historical Hiawatha, Mr. Jeremiah Cur- 
tiu says in " Creation Myths of Primitive America" : 

u Action myths relate to various processes in nature 
which never cease. For us the most important are those 
involved in the relations between the sun and the earth. 

<k The great Algonquin sun and earth myth, which has 
many variants and vast wealth of detail, describes those 
relations more profoundly and broadly than any other 
Indian myth devoted to the same subject. 

11 The Algonquin myth describes the earth maiden as be- 
coming a mother through being looked at by the sun. She 
gives birth to a daughter who becomes the mother of a 
great hero, the highest benefactor of aboriginal man in 
America. He is the giver of food and of every good gift 
by which life is supported. 

" This benefactor and food-giver is no other than that 
warm air which we see dancing and quivering above the 
earth in fine weather. Descended from the sun and the 
earth, this warm air supports all things that have vegetable 
or animal existence. 

"The myth is similar to that which Schoolcraft pieced 
together and which Longfellow took as the foundation of 
his beautiful poem ' Hiawatha,' though not identical with it. 

" Schoolcraft gave the name Hiawatha to his patchwork. 

"Hiawatha is an Iroquois name connected with Central 
New York. The Iroquois were mortal enemies of the 
Algonquins, and the feud between the two stocks was the 
most inveterate and far-reaching of any in America. 

" In the face of all this Schoolcraft makes Hiawatha, who 



20 INTRODUCTION 

is peculiarly Iroquois, the leading personage in his Algon- 
quin conglomerate ; Hiawatha being an Iroquois character 
of Central New York (he is connected more particularly 
with the region about Schenectady), while the actions to 
which Schoolcraft relates him pertain to the Algonquin 
Chippewas near Lake Superior. 

14 It is as if Europeans of some future age were to have 
placed before them a great epic narrative of French heroic 
adventure in which Prince Bismarck would appear as the 
chief and central Gallic figure in the glory and triumph of 
France. The error and absurdity would be, as the Ger- 
mans say, colossal, but not greater or more towering than 
in Schoolcraft's Hiawatha. Longfellow, of course, could 
not free himself from the error contained in his material ; 
but the error, which was not his own and which he had no 
means of correcting at that time, did not prevent him from 
giving his work that peculiar charm which is inseparable 
from everything which he did. 

44 This myth has received on the Pacific coast, or more 
correctly on parts of it, a different treatment from that 
given it east of the Rocky Mountains. There the bene- 
factor is a female, a daughter of the earth. 

44 In California, Norwan, daughter of the earth, occupies 
in part the place of the Algonquin hero, the child of the 
sun and the earth. The great and characteristic event of 
her life, her departure from the dance with her partner, is 
of the same scope and meaning as the last journey of Hia- 
watha when he sails to the west and vanishes in the regions 
of sunset. The hero of the Algonquin myth must go, he 
cannot stay ; he must vanish in the ruddy glow of evening 
because he is the warm dancing air of the daytime. He 
must go whether he will or not. Before he goes, however, 
he cheers all whom he leaves behind by telling them that 
another will come from the east to take his place and com- 
fort them. Next morning, of course, the comforter comes, 
for the life career of the Algonquin hero is included in the 
compass of a single day, and a successor is bound to come 
as surely as he himself is bound to go." 




AN INDIAN CHIEF 

prom Ratlin's North American Indians 



THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 



Should you ask me, whence these stories? 
Whence these legends and traditions, 
With the odors of the forest, 
With the dew and damp of meadows, 
With the curling smoke of wigwams, 5 

With the rushing of great rivers, 
With their frequent repetitions, 
And their wild reverberations 
As of thunder in the mountains? 

I should answer, I should tell you, 10 

" From the forest and the prairies, 
From the great lakes of the North-land, 
From the land of the Ojibways, 
From the land of the Dacotahs, 
From the mountains, moors, and fen-lands, 15 

13. Land of the Ojibways. The Ojibways or Chippewas, one of 
the Algonquin tribes, lived in Michigan and Wisconsin and also north 
of the Great Lakes in Canada. It is the northern peninsula of Michigan 
which Longfellow particularly designates as "the land of the Ojib- 
ways." and it is here between the Pictured Rocks and the Grand Sable 
that the scene of " The Song of Hiawatha," is laid. 

14. The Land of the Dacotahs. The Dacotah family, which 
included the Sioux. Mandan, Omaha, and many other tribes, lived west 
of the Ojibways. By Dacotah, Longfellow probably means the modern 
Sioux. 

15. Fen-lands. Low wet lands covered with sedge and aquatic 
grasses. 



22 THE SOKG OF HIAWATHA 

Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 

Feeds among the reeds and rushes. 

I repeat them as I heard them 

From the lips of Nawadaha, 

The musician, the sweet singer." 20 

Should you ask where Nawadaha 
Found these songs so wild and wayward, 
Found these legends and traditions, 
I should answer, I should tell you, 
" In the birdVnests of the forest, 25 

In the lodges of the beaver, 
In the hoof -prints of the bison, 
In the eyry of the eagle! 

" All the wild-fowl sang them to him, 
In the moorlands and the fen-lands, 30 

In the melancholy marshes; 
Chetowaik, the plover, sang them, 
Mahng, the loon, the wild goose, Wawa, 
The blue heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
And the grouse, the Mushkodasa! " 35 

If still further you should ask me,. 
Saying, "Who was Nawadaha? 
Tell us of this Nawadaha," 
I should answer your inquiries 
Straightway in such words as follow. 40 



16. Shuh-shuh-gah— Shuh-shuh'gah. The blue heron. 

27. Bison. The American buffalo, now almost exterminated. 

33. Chetowaik— Che-to-waik'. The plover. 

33. Wawa-Wa'-wa. The wild goose. 

35. Mushkodasa— Mush-ko-da'-sa. The grouse. 



INTRODUCTION 23 

" In the Yale of Tawasentha, 
In the green and silent valley, 
By the pleasant water-courses, 
Dwelt the singer Xawadaha. 
Round about the Indian village, 45 

Spread the meadows and the corn-fields, 
And beyond them stood the forest, 
Stood the groves of singing pine-trees, 
Green in Summer, white in Winter, 
Ever sighing, ever singing. 50 

" And the pleasant water-courses, 
You could trace them through the valley, 
By the rushing in the Spring-time, 
By the alders in the Summer, 
By the white fog in the Autumn, 55 

By the black line in the Winter; 
And beside them dwelt the singer, 
In the Yale of Tawasentha, 
In the green and silent valley. 

" There he sang of Hiawatha, 60 

Sang the Song of Hiawatha, 
Sang his wondrous birth and being, 
How he prayed and how he fasted, 
How he lived, and toiled, and suffered, 
That the tribes of men might prosper, 65 

That he might advance his people! " 

Ye who love the haunts of Xature, 
Love the sunshine of the meadow, 

41. The Vale of Tawasentha— Ta-wa-sSn'tha. Norman's Kill, 
Albany County, New York. 



24 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Love the shadow of the f orest, 

Love the wind among the branches, 70 

And the rain-shower and the snow-storm, 

And the rushing of great rivers 

Through their palisades of pine-trees, 

And the thunder in the mountains, 

Whose innumerable echoes 75 

Flap like eagles in their eyries; — 

Listen to these wild traditions, 

To this Song of Hiawatha! 

Ye who love a nation's legends, 
Love the ballads of a people, 80 

That like voices from afar off 
Call to us to pause and listen, 
Speak in tones so plain and childlike, 
Scarcely can the ear distinguish 
Whether they are sung or spoken; — 85 

Listen to this Indian Legend, 
To this Song of Hiawatha! 

Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, 
Who have faith in God and Nature, 
Who believe, that in all ages 90 

Every human heart is human, 
That in even savage bosoms 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
For the good they comprehend not, 
That the feeble hands and helpless, 95 

Groping blindly in the darkness, 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness 
And are lifted up and strengthened;— 



THE PEACE-PIPE 25 

Listen to this simple story, 

To this Song of Hiawatha! 100 

Ye who sometimes, in your rambles 
Through the green lanes of the country, 
Where the tangled barberry-bushes 
Hang their tufts of crimson berries 
Over stone walls gray with mosses, 105 

Pause by some neglected graveyard, 
For a while to muse, and ponder 
On a half-effaced inscription, 
Written with little skill of song-craft, 
Homely phrases, but each letter 110 

Full of hope and yet of heart-break, 
Full of all the tender pathos 
Of the Here and the Hereafter; — 
Stay and read this rude inscription, 
Read this Song of Hiawatha! 115 



THE PEACE-PIPE 

On the mountains of the Prairie., 
On the great Eed Pipe-stone Quarry, 

2. Quarry. The great Red Pipe-stone Quarry is situated on that 
part of the dividing ridge between the Minnesota and Missouri rivers 
called by the early French settlers Coteau des Prairies. Catlinite, a rare 
mineral of a dull-red, ash, or mottled color, is found in beds about a 
foot thick. For many generations, perhaps many centuries, the North 
American Indians have used this catlinite for making tobacco pipes. 
These pipes are scattered from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and from New York and Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico— an 
interesting evidence of the extent of Indian intercommunication. 

The great Red Pipe-stone Quarry is the theme of many Indian myths. 



26 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Gitche Manito, the mighty, 

He the Master of Life, descending, 

On the red crags of the quarry 5 

Stood erect, and called the nations, 

Called the tribes of men together. 

From his footprints flowed a river, 
Leaped into the light of morning, 
O'er the precipice plunging downward, 10 

Gleamed like Ishkoodah, the comet. 
And the Spirit, stooping earthward, 
With his finger on the meadow 
Traced a winding pathway for it, 
Saying to it, " Eun in this way! " 15 

From the red stone of the quarry 
"With his hand he broke a fragment, 
Molded it into a pipe-head, 



The traditions of the Sioux, Mandans, Knisteneaux and other tribes, 
while differing in detail, appear to be modifications of the version given 
by Longfellow. The quarry was long a neutral ground where hostile 
tribes met in peace to secure the gift which the Great Spirit had pro- 
vided for their common benefit. Afterward this territory was monop- 
olized by the Sioux, and other tribes could obtain the catlinite only by 
barter. 

3. Gitche Manito— Git'che Man'-i-to. The Great Spirit, God. It 
must be remembered that the observations of Schoolcraft and the 
other writers whom Longfellow followed were made upon Indians who 
had for generations been in direct or indirect contact with the doc- 
trines of Christianity. The primitive Indian had faint conception of a 
Supreme Being. *'In no Indian language could the early missionaries 
find a word to express the idea of God. Manitou and Oki meant any- 
thing endowed with supernatural powers, from a snakeskin, or a 
greasy Indian conjuror, up to Manabozho and Jouskeha."— Parkman: 
Jesuits in Worth America. It was through the teachings of the Jesuit 
missionaries that the idea of God was associated with the name Gitche 
Manitou. 

11. Ishkoodah— Ieh-koo-dah'. Fire; a comet. 



THE PEACE-PIPE 27 

Shaped and fashioned it with figures; 

From the margin of the river 20 

Took a long reed for a pipe-stem, 

With its dark green leaves upon it; 

Filled the pipe with bark of willow, 

With the bark of the red willow; 

Breathed upon the neighboring forest, 25 

Made its great boughs chafe together, 

Till in flame they burst and kindled; 

And erect upon the mountains, 

Gitche Manito, the mighty, 

Smoked the calumet, the Peace-Pipe, 30 

As a signal to the nations. 

And the smoke rose slowly, slowly, 
Through the tranquil air of morning, 
First a single line of darkness, 
Then a denser, bluer vapor, 35 

Then a snow-white cloud unfolding, 
Like the tree-tops of the forest, 
Ever rising, rising, rising, 
Till it touched the top of heaven, 
Till it broke against the heaven, 40 

And rolled outward all around it. 

23. Filled the pipe with bark of willow. The Indians thought that 
the flavor of smoking tobacco was improved by mixing with it the bark 
of the red willow or shongsasha; sometimes this shongsasha alone was 
used for tobacco. 

30. Calumet. (L. calamus, a reed). The name given by the French 
explorers to the Indian pipe used at conferences, generally as a symbol 
of war or peace. Marquette, a Jesuit missionary who smoked the 
peace-pipe with Indians in 1673, describes the implement as ' made of 
polished red stone like marble [catlinite] fastened on a stem, a stick two 
feet long ornamented with gay-colored feathers.' 



28 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

From the Vale of Tawasentha, 
From the Valley of Wyoming, 
From the groves of Tuscaloosa, 
From the far-off Eocky Mountains, 45 

From the Northern lakes and rivers 
All the tribes beheld the signal, 
Saw the distant smoke ascending, 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe. 

And the Prophets of the nations 50 

Said: "Behold it, the Pukwana! 
By this signal from afar off, 
Bending like a wand of willow, 
Waving like a hand that beckons, 
Gitche Manito, the mighty, 55 

Calls the tribes of men together, 
Calls the warriors to his council! n 

Down the rivers, o'er the prairies, 
Came the warriors of the nations, 
Came the Delawares and Mohawks, 60 

43. The Valley of Wyoming is in Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna 
River. 

44. Tuscaloosa is a part of Alabama named from the Indian chief 
defeated by De Soto in 1540. 

49. Pukwana— Puk-wa'na. The smoke of the Peace-Pipe. 

60-65. Representative Indian tribes are mentioned, coming from 
various parts of the country. The Delaware?, a powerful Algonquin 
tribe, lived in New Jersey and Delaware; the Mohawks, one of the Six 
Nations, came from New York: the Choctaws, one of the great southern 
tribes, were from Alabama and Mississippi; the Camanches were a Sho- 
shone tribe, and north of them were the Shoshones proper; the Black- 
feet were a prairie tribe of the West; the Pawnees were a warlike tribe 
of the Northwest; the Omahas and Mandans, Dacotah tribes of 
the Northwest; the Hurons lived on the shores of Lake Huron and in 
Ohio; the Ojibways in Michigan and Wisconsin. Dacotah here means 
probably the Sioux, a Dacotah tribe. 



THE PEACE-PIPE 29 

Came the Choctaws and Camanches, 

Came the Shoshonies and Blaekfeet, 

Came the Pawnees and Omahas, 

Came the ilandans and Dacotahs, 

Came the Hurons and Ojibways, 65 

All the warriors drawn together 

By the signal of the Peace-Pipe, 

To the Mountains of the Prairie, 

To the great Eed Pipe-stone Quarry. 

And they stood there on the meadow, 70 

With their weapons and their war-gear, 
Painted like the leaves of Autumn, 
Painted like the sky of morning, 
Wildly glaring at each other; 
In their faces stern defiance, 75 

In their hearts the feuds of ages, 
The hereditary hatred, 
The ancestral thirst of vengeance. 

Gitche Manito, the mighty, 
The creator of the nations, 80 

Looked upon them with compassion, 
With paternal love and pity; 
Looked upon their wrath and wrangling 
But as quarrels among children, 
But as feuds and fights of children! 85 

Over them he stretched his right hand, 
To subdue their stubborn natures, 
To allay their thirst and fever, 
By the shadow of his right hand; 
Spake to them with voice majestic 90 



30 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

As the sound of far-off waters 

Falling into deep abysses, 

Warning, chiding, spake in this wise: — 

" Oh, my children! my poor children! 
Listen to the words of wisdom, 95 

Listen to the words of warning, 
From the lips of the Great Spirit, 
From the Master of Life, who made you! 

" I have given you lands to hunt in, 
I have given you streams to fish in, 100 

I have given you bear and bison, 
I have given you roe and reindeer, 
I have given you brant and beaver, 
Filled the marshes full of wild-fowl, 
Filled the rivers full of fishes; 105 

Why then are you not contented? 
Why then will you hunt each other? 

" I am weary of your quarrels, 
Weary of your wars and bloodshed, 
Weary of your prayers for vengeance, 110 

Of your wrangiings and dissensions; 
All your strength is in your union, 
All your danger is in discord; 
Therefore be at peace henceforward, 
And as brothers live together. 115 

" I will send a Prophet to you, 
A Deliverer of the nations, 
Who shall guide you and shall teach you, 

103. Brant. A small wild goose which breeds within the Arctic 
Qircle and comes south in great flocks in autumn. 



THE PEACE-PIPE 31 

Who shall toil and suffer with you. 

If you listen to his counsels, 120 

You will multiply and prosper; 

If his warnings pass unheeded, 

You will fade away and perish! 

" Bathe now in the stream before you, 
Wash the war-paint from your faces, 125 

Wash the blood-stains from your fingers, 
Bury your war-clubs and your weapons, 
Break the red stone from this quarry, 
Mold and make it into Peace-Pipes, 
Take the reeds that grow beside you, 130 

Deck them with your brightest feathers, 
Smoke the calumet together, 
And as brothers live henceforward! " 

Then upon the ground the warriors 
Threw their cloaks and shirts of deer-skin, 135 
Threw their weapons and their war-gear, 
Leaped into the rushing river, 
Washed the war-paint from their faces. 
Clear above them flowed the water, 
Clear and limpid from the footprints 140 

Of the Master of Life descending; 
Dark below them flowed the water, 
Soiled and stained with streaks of crimson, 
As if blood were mingled with it! 

From the river came the warriors, 145 

Clean and washed from all their war-paint; 
On the banks their clubs they buried, 
Buried all their warlike weapons. 



32 THE SONG OF HIlWATHA 

Gitche Manito, the mighty, 

The Great Spirit, the creator, 150 

Smiled upon his helpless children! 
And in silence all the warriors 
Broke the red stone of the quarry, 
Smoothed and formed it into Peace-Pipes, 
Broke the long reeds by the river, 155 

Decked them with their brightest feathers, 
And departed each one homeward, 
While the Master of Life, ascending, 
Through the opening of cloud-curtains, 
Through the doorways of the heaven, 160 

Vanished from before their faces, 
In the smoke that rolled around him, 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe! 



II 

THE FOUR WINDS 

" Honor be to Mudjekeewis! " 
Cried the warriors, cried the old men, 
When he came in triumph homeward 
With the sacred Belt of Wampum, 

1. Mudjekeewis— Mtidj-e-kee'wis. The Ottawa story of Mudjekee- 
wis is told by Schoolcraft in " Algic Researches." 

4. Belt of Wampum. Wampum, beads made of the interior part of 
certain shells strung on threads, was at once the currency, the orna- 
ment, the pen, ink, and parchment of the Indians. " No compact, no 
speech, or clause of a speech to the representative of another nation, 
had any force, unless confirmed by the delivery of a string or belt of 
wampum. The belts, on occasion of importance, were wrought into 



THE FOUR WINDS 33 

From the regions of the North-Wind, 5 

From the kingdom of Wabasso, 
From the land of the White Babbit. 

He had stolen the Belt of Wampum 
From the neck of Mishe-Mokwa, 
From the Great Bear of the mountains. 10 

From the terror of the nations, 
As he lay asleep and cumbrous 
On the summit of the mountains, 
Like a rock with mosses on it, 
Spotted brown and gray with mosses. 15 

Silently he stole upon him, 
Till the red nails of the monster 
Almost touched him. almost scared him, 
Till the hot breath of his nostrils 
Warmed the hands of Mudjekeewis, 20 

As he drew the Belt of Wampum 
Over the round ears, that heard not, 
Over the small eyes that saw not, 
Over the long nose and nostrils, 
The black muffle of the nostrils, 25 

Out of which the heavy breathing 
Warmed the hands of Mudjekeewis. 



significant devices, suggestive of the substance of the compact or 
speech and designed as aids to memory. To one or more old men of 
the nation was assigned the honorable, but very onerous charge of 
keepers of the wampum— in other words, of the national records; and 
it was for them to remember and interpret the meaning of the belts." 
—Parkman: Jesuits in North America. 

6. Wabasso— Wa-bas'sO. The white rabbit : also the North. 

9. Mishe-Mo'kwa— MIs'he-MO'kwa. The great Bear. 

25. Muffle. The thick upper lip and nose of an animal. 



34 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Then he swung aloft his war-club, 
Shouted loud and long his war-cry, 
Smote the mighty Mishe-Mokwa 30 

In the middle of the forehead, 
Eight between the eyes he smote him. 

With the heavy blow bewildered, 
Eose the Great Bear of the mountains; 
But his knees beneath him trembled, 35 

And he whimpered like a woman, 
As he reeled and staggered forward, 
As he sat upon his haunches; 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis, 
Standing fearlessly before him, 40 

Taunted him in loud derision, 
Spake disdainfully in this wise: — 

" Hark you, Bear! you are a coward, 
And no Brave, as you pretended; 
Else you would not cry and whimper 45 

Like a miserable woman! 
Bear! you know our tribes are hostile, 
Long have been at war together; 
Now you find that we are strongest, 
You go sneaking in the forest, 50 

You go hiding in the mountains! 
Had you conquered me in battle 

44. Brave. An Indian warrior, a man of courage. Cf. bravo. 

43-57. Heckewelder says he once heard an Indian hunter thus 
reproach a bear. " When the hunter had dispatched the bear, I asked 
him how he thought the poor animal could understand what he said to 
it. 'Oh, 1 said he in answer, 'the bear understood me very well: did 
you not observe how ashamed he looked while I was upbraiding 
him?'" 



THE FOUR WINDS 35 

Not a groan would I have uttered; 

But you, Bear! sit here and whimper, 

And disgrace your tribe by crying, 55 

Like a wretched Shaugodaya, 

Like a cowardly old woman! " 

Then again he raised his war-club, 
Smote again the Mishe-Mokwa 
In the middle of his forehead, 60 

Broke his skull, as ice is broken 
When one goes to fish in Winter. 
Thus was slain the Mishe-Mokwa, 
He the Great Bear of the mountains, 
He the terror of the nations. 65 

"Honor be to Mudjekeewis! " 
With a shout exclaimed the people, 
"Honor be to Mudjekeewis! 
Henceforth he shall be the West-Wind, 
And hereafter and forever 70 

Shall he hold supreme dominion 
Over all the winds of heaven. 
Call him no more Mudjekeewis, 
Call him Kabeyun, the West- Wind! " 

Thus was Mudjekeewis chosen 75 

Father of the Winds of Heaven. 
For himself he kept the West-Wind, 
Gave the others to his children; 
Unto Wabun gave the East- Wind, 



56. Shaugodaya— Shau-gO-dS'ya. A coward. 
74 Kabeyun— Ka'-bG-yun. The West Wind. 
79. Wabun— Wa'bun. The East Wind. 



36 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Gave the South to Shawondasee, 80 

And the North- Wind, wild and cruel, 
To the fierce Kabibonokka. 

Young and beautiful was Wabun; 
He it was who brought the morning, 
He it was whose silver arrows 85 

Chased the dark o'er hill and valley; 
He it was whose cheeks were painted 
With the brightest streaks of crimson, 
And whose voice awoke the village, 
Called the deer, and called the hunter. 90 

Lonely in the sky was Wabun; 
Though the birds sang gayly to him, 
'Though the wild-flowers of the meadow 
Filled the air with odors for him, 
Though the forests and the rivers 95 

Sang and shouted at his coming, 
Still his heart was sad within him, 
For he was alone in heaven. 

But one morning, gazing earthward, 
While the village still was sleeping, 100 

And the fog lay on the river, 
Like a ghost, that goes at sunrise, 
He beheld a maiden walking 
All alone upon a meadow, 

Gathering water-flags and rushes 105 

By a river in the meadow. 

Every morning, gazing earthward, 

80. Shawondasee— Sha-wQn-da'see. The South Wind. 
82. Kabibonokka— Ka-bib-0-nOk'ka. The North Wind. 



THE FOUR WINDS 37 

Still the first thing he beheld there 

Was her blue eyes looking at him, 

Two blue lakes among the rushes. 110 

And he loved the lonely maiden, 

Who thus waited for his coming; 

For they both were solitary, 

She on earth and he in heaven. 

And he wooed her with caresses, 115 

Wooed her with his smile of sunshine, 
With his flattering words he wooed her, 
With his sighing and his singing, 
Gentlest whispers in the branches, 
Softest music, sweetest odors, 120 

Till he drew her to his bosom, 
Folded in his robes of crimson, 
Till into a star he changed her, 
Trembling still upon his bosom; 
And forever in the heavens 125 

They are seen together walking, 
Wabun and the Wabun-Annung, 
Wabun and the Star of Morning. 

But the fierce Kabibonokka 
Had his dwelling among icebergs, 130 

In the everlasting snow-drifts, 
In the kingdom of Wabasso, 
In the land of the White Eabbit. 
He it was whose hand in Autumn 
Painted all the trees with scarlet, 135 

127. Wabung Annung— Wa/bung Xn'ming. The Morning Star, the 
Star of the East. 



38 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Stained the leaves with red and yellow; 

He it was who sent the snow-flakes, 

Sifting, hissing, through the forest, 

Froze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers, 

Drove the loon and sea-gull southward, 140 

Drove the cormorant and curlew 

To their nests of sedge and sea-tang 

In the realms of Shawondasee. 

Once the fierce Kabibonokka 
Issued from his lodge of snow-drifts, 145 

From his home among the icebergs, 
And his hair, with snow besprinkled, 
Streamed behind him like a river, 
Like a black and wintry river, 
As he howled and hurried southward, 150 

Over frozen lakes and moorlands. 

There among the reeds and rushes 
Found he Shingebis, the diver, 
Trailing strings of fish behind him, 
O'er the frozen fens and moorlands, 155 

Lingering still among the moorlands, 
Though his tribe had long departed 
To the land of Shawondasee. 

Cried the fierce Kabibonokka, 
" Who is this that dares to brave me? 160 

Dares to stay in my dominions, 
When the Wawa has departed, 



142. Sea-tang— Sea tangle. A kind of seaweed. 
153. Shingebis — Shin'ge-bis. The diver or grebe. The story of 
Shingebis and Kabibonokka is an Ojibway legend. 



THE FOUR WINDS 39 

When the wild-goose has gone southward, 

And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 

Long ago departed southward? 165 

I will go into his wigwam, 

I will put his smoldering fire out! " 

And at night Kabibonokka 
To the lodge came wild and wailing, 
Heaped the snow in drifts about it, 170 

Shouted down into the smoke-flue, 
Shook the lodge-poles in his fury. 
Flapped the curtain of the doorway. 
Shingebis, the diver, feared not, 
Shingebis, the diver, cared not; 175 

Four great logs had he for fire-wood, 
One for each moon of the winter, 
And for food the fishes served him. 
By his blazing fire he sat there, 
Warm and merry, eating, laughing, 180 

Singing, " Kabibonokka, 
You are but my fellow mortal! " 

Then Kabibonokka entered, 
And though Shingebis, the diver, 
Felt his presence by the coldness, 185 

Felt his icy breath upon him, 
Still he did not cease his singing, 
Still he did not leave his laughing, 
Only turned the log a little, 

171. Smoke-flue. An Indian lodge, or wigwam made of skin, has two 
flaps at the top on opposite sides. According to the direction from 
which the wind blows, one or the other of these is opened, to serve as 
a chimney. 



40 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Only made the fire burn brighter, 190 

Made the sparks fly up the smoke-flue. 

From Kabibonokka's forehead, 
From his snow-besprinkled tresses, 
Drops of sweat fell fast and heavy, 
Making dints upon the ashes, 195 

As along the eaves of lodges, 
As from drooping boughs of hemlock, 
Drips the melting snow in spring-time, 
Making hollows in the snow-drifts. 

Till at last he rose defeated, 200 

Could not bear the heat and laughter, 
Could not bear the merry singing, 
But rushed headlong through the door-way, 
Stamped upon the crusted snow-drifts, 
Stamped upon the lakes and rivers, 205 

Made the snow upon them harder, 
Made the ice upon them thicker, 
Challenged Shingebis, the diver, 
To come forth and wrestle with him, 
To come forth and wrestle naked 210 

On the frozen fens and moorlands. 

Forth went Shingebis, the diver, 
Wrestled all night with the North- Wind, 
Wrestled naked on the moorlands 
With the fierce Kabibonokka, 215 

Till his panting breath grew fainter, 
Till his frozen grasp grew feebler, 
Till he reeled and staggered backward, 
And retreated, baffled, beaten. 



THE FOUR WINDS 41 

To the kingdom of Wabasso, 220 

To the land of the White Babbit, 

Hearing still the gusty laughter, 

Hearing Shingebis, the diver, 

Singing, " Kabibonokka, 

You are but my fellow-mortal! " 225 

Shawondasee, fat and lazy, — 
Had his dwelling far to southward, 
In the drowsy, dreamy sunshine, 
In the never-ending Summer. 
He it was who sent the wood-birds, 230 

Sent the robin, the Opechee, 
Sent the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
Sent the Shawshaw, sent the swallow, 
Sent the wild-goose, Wawa, northward, 
Sent the melons and tobacco, 235 

And the grapes in purple clusters. 

From his pipe the smoke ascending 
Filled the sky with haze and vapor, 
Filled the air with dreamy softness, 
Gave a twinkle to the water. 240 

Touched the rugged hills with smoothness, 
Brought the tender Indian Summer 
To the melancholy north-land, 
In the dreary Moon of Snow-shoes. 

Listless, careless Shawondasee! 245 

In his life he had one shadow, 

231. Opechee— 0-pe"'chee. The robin. 

232. Owaissa— O-wais'sa. The bluebird. 

233. Shawshaw— Shaw-shaw. The swallow. 
244. Moon of Snowshoes. November. 



42 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

In his heart one sorrow had he. 

Once, as he was gazing northward, 

Far away upon a prairie 

He beheld a maiden standing, 250 

Saw a tall and slender maiden 

All alone upon a prairie; 

Brightest green were all her garments, 

And her hair was like the sunshine. 

Day by day he gazed upon her, 255 

Day by day he sighed with passion, 
Day by day his heart within him 
Grew more hot with love and longing 
For the maid with yellow tresses. 
But he was too fat and lazy 260 

To bestir himself and woo her; 
Yes, too indolent and easy 
To pursue her and persuade her. 
So he only gazed upon her, 

Only sat and sighed with passion 265 

For the maiden of the prairie. 

Till one morning, looking northward, 
He beheld her yellow tresses 
Changed and covered o'er with whiteness, 
Covered as with whitest snow-flakes. 270 

" Ah! my brother from the North-land, 
From the kingdom of Wabasso, 
From the land of the White Babbit! 
You have stolen the maiden from me, 
You have laid your hand upon her, 275 



THE FOUR WINDS 43 

You have wooed and won my maiden, 
With your stories of the North-land!" 

Thus the wretched Shawondasee 
Breathed into the air his sorrow; 
And the South- Wind o'er the prairie 280 

Wandered warm with sighs of passion, 
With the sighs of Shawondasee, 
Till the air seemed full of snow-flakes, 
Full of thistle-down the prairie, 
And the maid with hair like sunshine 285 

Vanished from his sight forever; 
Never more did Shawondasee 
See the maid with yellow tresses! 

Poor, deluded Shawondasee! 
'Twas no woman that you gazed at, 290 

'Twas no maiden that you sighed for, 
? Twas the prairie dandelion 
That through all the dreamy Summer 
You had gazed at with such longing, 
You had sighed for with such passion, 295 

And had puffed away forever, 
Blown into the air with sighing. 
Ah! deluded Shawondasee! 

Thus the Four Winds were divided; 
Thus the sons of Mudjekeewis 300 

Had their stations in the heavens, 
At the corners of the heavens; 
For himself the West-Wind only 
Kept the mighty Mudjekeewis. 



44 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

III 

HIAWATHA'S CHILDHOOD 

Downward through the evening twilight, 
In the days that are forgotten, 
In the unremembered ages, 
From the full moon fell Nokomis, 
Fell the beautiful Nokomis, 5 

She a wife, but not a mother. 

She was sporting with her women, 
Swinging in a swing of grape-vines, 
When her rival, the rejected, 
Full of jealousy and hatred, 10 

Cut the leafy swing asunder, 
Cut in twain the twisted grape-vines, 
And Nokomis fell affrighted 
Downward through the evening twilight, 
On the Muskoday, the meadow, 15 

On the prairie full of blossoms. 
" See! a star falls! " said the people; 
" From the sky a star is falling! " 

There among the ferns and mosses, 
There among the prairie lilies, 20 

On the Muskoday, the meadow, 
In the moonlight and the starlight, 
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter. 



4. Nokomis — NO-kO'mis. A grandmother. 
15. Muskoday— Miis'kO-day. The meadow. 



Hiawatha's childhood 45 

And she called her name Wenonah, 

As the first-born of her daughters. 25 

And the daughter of Nokomis 

Grew up like the prairie lilies, 

Grew a tall and slender maiden, 

With the beauty of the moonlight, 

With the beauty of the starlight, 30 

And Xokomis warned her often, 
Saving oft, and oft repeating, 
" 0, beware of Mudjekeewis, 
Of the West- Wind, Mudjekeewis; 
Listen not to what he tells you; 35 

Lie not down upon the meadow, 
Stoop not down among the lilies, 
Lest the West- Wind come and harm you! " 

But she heeded not the warning, 
Heeded not those words of wisdom, 40 

And the West-Wind came at evening, 
Walking lightly o'er the prairie, 
Whispering to the leaves and blossoms, 
Bending low the flowers and grasses, 
Found the beautiful Wenonah, 45 

Lying there among the lilies, 
Wooed her with his words of sweetness, 
Wooed her with his soft caresses, 
Till she bore a son in sorrow, 
Bore a son of love and sorrow. 50 

Thus was born my Hiawatha, 
Thus was born the child of wonder; 

24. Wenonah— Wg-nO'nah. 



46 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

But the daughter of Nokomis, 

Hiawatha's gentle mother, 

In her anguish died deserted 55 

By the West- Wind, false and faithless, 

By the heartless Mudjekeewis. 

For her daughter, long and loudly 
Wailed and wept the sad Nokomis: 
" that I were dead! " she murmured, 60 

" that I were dead, as thou art! 
No more work, and no more weeping, 
Wahonowin! Wahonowin! " 

By the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
By the shining Big-Sea- Water, 65 

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, 
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis. 
Dark behind it rose the forest, 
Eose the black and gloomy pine-trees, 
Eose the firs with cones upon them; 70 

Bright before it beat the water, 
Beat the clear and sunny water, 
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. 

There the wrinkled, old Nokomis 
Nursed the little Hiawatha, 75 

Booked him in his linden cradle, 
Bedded soft in moss and rushes, 
Safely bound with reindeer sinews; 

63. Wahonowin— Wa-h6-nO'win. A cry of lamentation. 

64. Gitche Gumee— Git'che Gu'mee. The Big-Sea-Water, Lake 
Superior. Longfellow locates the home of Hiawatha on the southern 
shore. 

76. Linden. Also called basswood. 

78. Reindeer. The true reindeer is not found in America. Rein- 



Hiawatha's childhood 41 

Stilled his fretful wail by saying, 

" Hush! the Naked Bear will hear thee! " 80 

Lulled him into slumber, singing, 

"Ewa-yea! my little owlet! 

Who is this, that lights the wigwam? 

With his great eyes lights the wigwam? 

Ewa-yea! my little owlet! " 85 

Many things Xokomis taught him 
Of the stars that shine in heaven; 
Showed him Ishkoodah, the comet, 
Ishkoodah, with fiery tresses; 
Showed the Death-Dance of the spirits, 90 

Warriors with their plumes and war-clubs, 
Flaring far away to northward 
In the frosty nights of Winter; 
Showed the broad, white road in heaven, 
Pathway of the ghosts, the shadows, 95^ 

Eunning straight across the heavens, 
Crowded with the ghosts, the shadows. 

At the door on summer evenings 
Sat the little Hiawatha; 

Heard the whispering of the pine-trees, 100 

Heard the lapping of the water, 
Sounds of music, words of wonder; 



deer here probably means the caribou, the southern range of which is 
in the northern peninsula of Michigan, along the southern shores of 
Lake Superior. 

82. Ewa-yea— E-wa-ye-a'. Lullaby. 

90. The Death-Dance of the Spirits. The Aurora Borealis. 

94. The broad, white road in heaven. The Milky Way. 



48 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

" Minne-wawa! " said the pine-trees, 
" Mudway-aushka! " said the water. 

Saw the fire-fly, Wah-wah-taysee, 105 

Flitting through the dusk of evening, 
With the twinkle of its candle 
Lighting up the brakes and bushes, 
And he sang the song of children, 
Sang the song Nokomis taught him: 110 

" Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly, 
Little, flitting, white-fire insect, 
Little, dancing, white-fire creature, 
Light me with your little candle, 
Ere upon my bed I lay me, 115 

Ere in sleep I close my eyelids! " 

Saw the moon rise from the water 
Rippling, rounding from the water, 
Saw the flecks and shadows on it, 
Whispered, " What is that, Nokomis? * 120 

And the good Nokomis answered: 
" Once a warrior, very angry, 
Seized his grandmother, and threw her 
Up into the sky at midnight; 
Right against the moon he threw her; 125 

'Tis her body that you see there." 

Saw the rainbow in the heaven, 
In the eastern sky, the rainbow, 

103. Minne-wawa— Min-n§-wa'w&. The sound of wind in the trees. 

104. Mudway-aushka— Mud-way-aush'ka. The sound of waves on 
the shore. 

105. Wah-wah-taysee— Wah-wah-taysee. The firefly. 

108. Brake. A kind of fern; also, a thicket of bushes or brush- 
wood. 



49 

Whispered, "What is that, Nokomis?" 

And the good Nokomis answered: 130 

" 'Tis the heaven of flowers } T ou see there; 

All the wild-flowers of the forest, 

All the lilies of the prairie, 

When on earth they fade and perish, 

Blossom in that heaven above us." 135 

When he heard the owls at midnight, 
Hooting, laughing in the forest, 
" What is that? " he cried in terror; 
u What is that," he said, " Nokomis? " 
And the good Nokomis answered: 140 

" That is but the owl and owlet, 
Talking in their native language, 
Talking, scolding at each other." 

Then the little Hiaw T atha 
Learned of every bird its language, 145 

Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How they built their nests in Summer, 
Where they hid themselves in Winter, 
Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
Called them " Hiawatha's Chickens." 150 

Of all beasts he learned the language, 
Learned their names and all their secrets, 
How the beavers built their lodges, 
Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 
How the reindeer ran so swiftly, 155 

Why the rabbit was so timid, 
Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
Called them " Hiawatha's Brothers." 



50 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Then Iagoo, the great boaster, 
He the marvelous story-teller, 160 

He the traveler and the talker, 
He the friend of old Nokomis, 
Made a bow for Hiawatha; 
From a branch of ash he made it, 
From an oak-bough made the arrows, 165 

Tipped with flint, and winged with feathers, 
And the cord he made of deer-skin. 

Then he said to Hiawatha: 
" Go, my son, into the forest, 
Where the red deer herd together, 170 

Kill for us a famous roebuck, 
Kill for us a deer with antlers! " 

Forth into the forest straightway 
All alone walked Hiawatha 

Proudly, with his bow and arrows; 175 

And the birds sang round him, o'er him, 
" Do not shoot us, Hiawatha! " 
Sang the robin, the Opechee, 
Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
" Do not shoot us, Hiawatha! " 180 

Up the oak-tree, close beside him, 



159. Iagoo— I-a'goo. This great boaster and story-teller holds in 
Indian legends the same place that Baron Munchausen,* Jack Falstaff, 
and Captain Lemuel Gulliver do in onr written literature. 

Iagoo was believed by his friends when he told them that he had seen 
mosquitoes of such enormous size that a single wing of one was large 
enough for his canoe-sail, and that he had found a red willow so large 
that it took him half a day to walk around it; but they laughed him to 
scorn when he said that far to the east there was a large body of salt 
water, and men who were white. 



hiawatha's childhood 51 

Sprang the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
In and out among the branches, 
Coughed and chattered from the oak-tree, 
Laughed, and said between his laughing, 185 
" Do not shoot me, Hiawatha! w 

And the rabbit from his pathway 
Leaped aside, and at a distance 
Sat erect upon his haunches, 
Half in fear and half in frolic, 190 

Saying to the little hunter, 
" Do not shoot me, Hiawatha! " 

But he heeded not nor heard them, 
For his thoughts were with the red deer; 
On their tracks his eyes were fastened, 195 

Leading downward to the river, 
To the ford across the river, 
And as one in slumber walked he. 

Hidden in the alder-hushes, 
There he waited till the deer came, 200 

Till he saw two antlers lifted, 
Saw two eyes look from the thicket, 
Saw two nostrils point to windward, 
And a deer came down the pathway, 
Flecked with leafy light and shadow. 205 

And his heart within him fluttered, 
Trembled like the leaves above him, 
Like the birch-leaf palpitated. 
As the deer came down the pathway. 

Then, upon one knee uprising, 210 

182. Adjidaumo— A dj-I-d^u'-mO (tail-in air). The red squirrel. 



52 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Hiawatha aimed an arrow; 

Scarce a twig moved with his motion, 

Scarce a leaf was stirred or rustled, 

But the wary roebuck started, 

Stamped with all his hoofs together, 215 

Listened with one foot uplifted, 

Leaped as if to meet the arrow; 

Ah, the singing, fatal arrow, 

Like a wasp it buzzed and stung him! 

Dead he lay there in the forest, 220 

By the ford across the river; 
Beat his timid heart no longer, 
But the heart of Hiawatha 
Throbbed and shouted and exulted, 
As he bore the red deer homeward, 225 

And Iagoo and Nokomis 
Hailed his coming with applauses. 

From the red deer's hide Nokomis 
Made a cloak for Hiawatha, 
From the red deer's flesh Nokomis 230 

Made a banquet in his honor. 
All the village came and feasted, 
All the guests praised Hiawatha, 
Called him Strong- Heart, Soan-ge-taha! 
Called him Loon-Heart, Mahn-go-taysee! 235 

234. Soan-ge-taha— SOan-ge-ta'-ha. Strong- hearted. 

£35. Mahn-go-taysee— Mahn-gO-tay'see. Loon-hearted, brave. 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 53 

IV 

HIAWATHA AXD MUDJEKEEWIS 

Out of childhood into manhood 
Now had grown my Hiawatha, 

Skilled in all the craft of hunters, 

Learned in all the lore of old men, 

In all youthful sports and pastirties, 5 

In all manly arts and labors. 

Swift of foot was Hiawatha; 
He could shoot an arrow from him. 
And run forward with such fleetness, 
That the arrow fell behind him! 10 

Strong of arm was Hiawatha; 
He could shoot ten arrows upward, 
Shoot them with such strength and swiftness, 
That the tenth had left the bow-string 
Ere the first to earth had fallen! 15 

He had mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Magic mittens made of deer-skin; 
When upon his hands he wore them, 
He could smite the rocks asunder, 
He could grind them into powder. 20 

He had moccasins enchanted, 
Magic moccasins of deer-skin; 

16. Minjekahwun— Min-je-kah'win. Mittens. 

21. Moccasins. Indian shoes made of buckskin. They were dura- 
ble, noiseless, and pliant,— " the best covering for a hunter's foot that 
human skill ever contrived." Hiawatha's moccasins had magic power, 
like the seven-league boots of old fairy tales. 



54 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

When he bound them round his ankles, 

When upon his feet he tied them, 

At each stride a mile he measured! 25 

Much he questioned old Nokomis 
Of his father Mudjekeewis; 
Learned from her the fatal secret 
Of the beauty of his mother, 
Of the falsehood of his father; 30 

And his heart was hot within him, 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

Then he said to old Nokomis, 
" I will go to Mudjekeewis, 

See how fares it with my father, 35 

At the doorways of the West- Wind, 
At the portals of the Sunset! " 

From his lodge went Hiawatha, 
Dressed for travel, armed for hunting; 
Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings, 40 

Eichly wrought with quills and wampum; 
On his head his eagle-feathers, 
Bound his waist his belt of wampum, 
In his hand his bow of ash-wood, 
Strung with sinews of the reindeer; 45 

In his quiver oaken arrows, 
Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers; 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
With his moccasins enchanted. 

Warning said the old Nokomis, 50 

" Go not forth, Hiawatha! 
To the kingdom of the West- Wind, 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 55 

To the realms of Mudjekeewis, 

Lest he harm you with his magic, 

Lest he kill you with his cunning!" 55 

But the fearless Hiawatha 
Heeded not her woman's warning; 
Forth he strode into the forest, 
At each stride a mile he measured; 
Lurid seemed the sky above him, 60 

Lurid seemed the earth beneath him, 
Hot and close the air around him, 
Filled with smoke and fiery vapors, 
As of burning woods and prairies. 
For his heart was hot within him, 65 

Like a living coal his heart was. 

So he journeyed westward, westward, 
Left the fleetest deer behind him, 
Left the antelope and bison; 
Crossed the rushing Esconaba, 70 

Crossed the mighty Mississippi, 
Passed the Mountains of the Prairie, 
Passed the land of Crows and Foxes, 
Passed the dwellings of the Blackfeet, 
Came unto the Rocky Mountains, 75 

To the Kingdom of the West-Wind, 
Where upon the gusty summits 

60. Lurid. GiviDg a ghastly or dull red light, as of flame mingled 
with smoke. 

70. Esconaba— Es-cO-na'ba. A river of northern Michigan which 
flows into Lake Michigan. 

72. See I, 2. 

73. Land of Crows and Foxes. The Crows are a Dacotah tribe of 
the Northwest ; the Foxes lived in Wisconsin. 

74. Blackfeet. An Algonquin tribe of the Northwest. 



56 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Sat the ancient Mudjekeewis, 
Kuler of the winds of heaven. 

Filled with awe was Hiawatha 80 

At the aspect of his father. 
On the air about him wildly 
Tossed and streamed his cloudy tresses, 
Gleamed like drifting snow his tresses, 
Glared like Ishkoodah, the comet, ' 85 

Like the star with fiery tresses. 

Filled with joy was Mudjekeewis 
When he looked on Hiawatha, 
Saw his youth rise up before him 
In the face of Hiawatha, 90 

Saw the beauty of Wenonah 
From the grave rise up before him. 

■ Welcome! " said he, " Hiawatha, 
To the kingdom of the West- Wind! 
Long have I been waiting for you! 95 

Youth is lovely, age is lonely, 
Youth is fiery, age is frosty; 
You bring back the days departed, 
You bring back my youth of passion, 
And the beautiful Wenonah! " 100 

Many days they talked together, 
Questioned, listened, waited, answered; 
Much the mighty Mudjekeewis 
Boasted of his ancient prowess, 
Of his perilous adventures, 105 

His indomitable courage, 
His invulnerable body. 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 57 

Patiently sat Hiawatha, 
Listening to his fathers boasting; 
With a smile he sat and listened, 110 

Uttered neither threat nor menace, 
Xeither word nor look betrayed him, 
But his heart was hot within him, 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

Then he said, " Mudjekeewis, 115 

Is there nothing that can harm you? 
Nothing that you are. afraid of?" 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis, 
Grand and gracious in his boasting, 
Answered, saying, " There is nothing, 120 

Nothing but the black rock yonder, 
Nothing but the fatal Wawbeek! " 

And he looked at Hiawatha 
With a wise look and benignant, 
With a countenance paternal, 125 

Looked with pride upon the beauty 
Of his tall and graceful figure, 
Saying, " my Hiawatha! 
Is there anything can harm you? 
Anything you are afraid of?" 130 

But the wary Hiawatha 
Paused awhile, as if uncertain. 
Held his peace, as if resolving, 
And then answered, " There is nothing, 
Nothing but the bulrush yonder, 135 

Nothing but the great Apukwa! " 

122. Wawbeek- Waw'beek. A rock. 



58 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And as Mudjekeewis, rising, 
Stretched his hand to pluck the bulrush, 
Hiawatha cried in terror, 

Cried in well-dissembled terror, 140 

"Kago! kago! do not touch it!" 
" Ah, kaween! " said Mudjekeewis, 
" No indeed, I will not touch it! " 

Then they talked of other matters; 
First of Hiawatha's brothers, 145 

First of Wabun, of the East- Wind, 
Of the South- Wind, Shawondasee, 
Of the North, Kabibonokka; 
Then of Hiawatha's mother, 

Of the beautiful Wenonah, 150 

Of her birth upon the meadow, 
Of her death, as old Nokomis 
Had remembered and related. 

And he cried, " Mudjekeewis, 
It was you who killed Wenonah, 155 

Took her young life and her beauty, 
Broke the Lily of the Prairie, 
Trampled it beneath your footsteps; 
You confess it! you confess it! " 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis 160 

Tossed upon the wind his tresses, 
Bowed his hoary head in anguish, 
With a silent nod assented. 



136. Apukwa— A-puk'w&. A bulrush. 

141. Kago— Ka'gO. Do not. 

143. Kaween— Ka-ween\ No, indeed. 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 59 

Then up started Hiawatha, 
And with threatening look and gesture 165 

Laid his hand upon the black rock, 
On the fatal Wawbeek laid it, 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Rent the jutting- crag asunder, 
Smote and crushed it into fragments, 170 

Hurled them madly at his father, 
The remorseful Mudjekeewis, 
For his heart was hot within him, 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

But the ruler of the West-Wind 175 

Blew the fragments backward from him, 
With the breathing of his nostrils, 
With the tempest of his anger, 
Blew them back at his assailant; 
Seized the bulrush, the Apukwa, 180 

Dragged it with its roots and fibers 
From the margin of the meadow, 
From its ooze, the giant bulrush; 
Long and loud laughed Hiawatha! 

Then began the deadly conflict, 185 

Hand to hand among the mountains; 
From his eyrie screamed the eagle, 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle; 
Sat upon the crags around them, 
Wheeling flapped his wings above them. 190 



188. Keneu.— Keneu'. The great war eagle, which was said by the 
Indians to conquer all other varieties of eagle. They therefore used its 
feathers for decorating the heads and dresses of warriors. 



60 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Like a tall tree in the tempest 
Bent and lashed the giant bulrush; 
And in masses huge and heavy 
Crashing fell the fatal Wawbeek; 
Till the earth shook with the tumult 195 

And confusion of the battle, 
And the air was full of shoutings, 
And the thunder of the mountains, 
Starting, answered, " Bairn- wawa! " 

Back retreated Mudjekeewis, 200 

Eushing westward o'er the mountains, 
Stumbling westward down the mountains, 
Three whole days retreated fighting, 
Still pursued by Hiawatha 

To the doorways of the West-Wind, 205 

To the portals of the Sunset, 
To the earth's remotest border, 
Where into the empty spaces 
Sinks the sun, as a flamingo 

Drops into her rest at nightfall, 210 

In the melancholy marshes. 

"Hold! " at length cried Mudjekeewis, 
" Hold, my son, my Hiawatha! 
'Tis impossible to kill me, 

For you cannot kill the immortal. 215 

I have put you to this trial, 
But to know and prove your courage; 
Now receive the prize of valor! 

" Go back to your home and people, 

199. Baim-wawa— Baiin-wa'w&. The sound of thunder. 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 61 

Live among them, toil among them, 220 

Cleanse the earth from all that harms it. 

Clear the fishing-grounds and rivers, 

Slay all monsters and magicians, 

All the Wendigoes, the giants. 

All the serpents, the Kenabeeks, 2*25 

A- 1 slew the Mishe-Mokwa, 

Slew the Great Bear of the mountains. 

" And at last when Death draws near you, 
When the awful eyes of Pauguk 
Glare upon you in the darkness, 230 

I will share my kingdom with you, 
Euler shall you be thenceforward 
Of the Xorthwest-Wind, Keewaydin, 
Of the home-wind, the Keewaydin/' 

Thus was fought that famous battle 235 

In the dreadful days of Shah-shah, 
In the days long since departed, 
In the kingdom of the West-Wind. 
Still the hunter sees its traces 

224. Wendigoes— Wen'di-gOes. Giants. 

225. Kenabeeks— K£-na v beeks. Serpents. 

229. Pauguk— Pau'gfik. " Pauguk is the personification of death. 
He is represented as existing without flesh or blood. He is a hunter, 
and, besides his bows and arrows, is armed with a puggawagon, or war 
club. But he hunts only men, women, and children. He is an object 
of dread and horror. To see him is a sure indication of death. Some 
accounts represent his bones as covered by a thin transparent skin, and 
his eyesockets as filled with balls of fire."— Schoolcraft : Algic Re- 
searches. 

233. Kewaydin— Kg-w5y'dln. The Northwest Wind. The Algon- 
quin tribes claimed to have come from the Southeast ; hence they called 
the Northwest Wind the Home Wind, the wind which blew back on the 
track of their migration. 

236. Shah-shah. Long ago. 

239-244. M The northern Indians," says Schoolcraft, "are in the habit 



62 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Scattered far o'er hill and valley; 240 

Sees the giant bulrush growing 
By the ponds and water-courses, 
Sees the masses of the Wawbeek 
Lying still in every valley. 

Homeward now went Hiawatha; 245 

Pleasant was the landscape round him, 
Pleasant was the air above him, 
For the bitterness of anger 
Had departed wholly from him, 
From his brain the thought of vengeance, 250 
From his heart the burning fever. 

Only once his pace he slackened, 
Only once he paused or halted, 
Paused to purchase heads of arrows 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, 255 

In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Where the Falls of Minnehaha 
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, 
Laugh and leap into the valley. 

There the ancient Arrow-maker 260 

Made his arrow-heads of sandstone, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper, 

of making frequent allusions to Manabozbo [Hiawatha] and his ex- 
ploits. 'There,' said a young Chippewa, pointing to some huge 
boulders of greenstone, ' are pieces of the rock broken off in Mana- 
bozho's contest with his father.' " 

257. The Falls of Minnehaha— Min-ne-ha'ha. These falls, noted 
for their beauty, are on a stream which runs into the Mississippi between 
Fort Snelling and the Falls of St. Anthony. The name Minnehaha 
means laughing water. 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 63 

Smoothed and sharpened at the edges, 

Hard and polished, keen and costly. 265 

With him dwelt his dark-eyed daughter, 
Wayward as the Minnehaha, 
With her moods of shade and sunshine, 
Eyes that smiled and frowned alternate, 
Feet as rapid as the river, 270 

Tresses flowing like the water, 
And as musical a laughter; 
And he named her from the river, 
From the water-fall he named her, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 275 

Was it then for heads of arrows, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper, 
That my Hiawatha halted 
In the land of the Dacotahs? 280 

Was it not to see the maiden, 
See the face of Laughing Water 
Peeping from behind the curtain, 
Hear the rustling of her garments 
From behind the waving curtain, 285 

As one sees the Minnehaha 
Gleaming, glancing through the branches, 
As one hears the Laughing Water 
From behind its screen of branches? 

Who shall say what thoughts and visions 290 
Fill the fiery brains of young men? 
Who shall say what dreams of beauty 
Filled the heart of Hiawatha? 



64 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

All he told to old Nokomis, 

When he reached the lodge at sunset, 295 

Was the meeting with his father, 

Was his fight with Mudjekeewis; 

Not a word he said of arrows, 

Not a word of Laughing Water! 



hiawatha's fasting 

You shall hear how Hiawatha 
Prayed and fasted in the forest, 
Not for greater skill in hunting, 
Not for greater craft in fishing, 
Not for triumphs in the battle, 5 

And renown among the warriors, 
But for profit of the people, 
For advantage of the nations. 

First he built a lodge for fasting, 
Built a wigwam in the forest, 10 

V. "The rite of fasting is one of the most deep-seated and universal 
in the Indian ritual. It is practiced among all the American tribes, and 
is deemed by them essential to their success in life in every situation. 
No young man is fitted and prepared to begin the career of life until he 
has accomplished his great fast. Seven days appear to have been the 
ancient maximum limit of endurance. It is at this period that the 
young men and the young women see visions and dream dreams. The 
hallucinations of the mind are taken for divine inspiration. Fasts in 
subsequent life appear to have for their object a renewal of the pow- 
ers and virtues which they attribute to the rite. These fasts are deemed 
most acceptable to the manitous or spirits whose influence and protec- 
tion they wish to engage or preserve,"— Schoolcraft : Algic He- 
searches. 



65 

By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 

In the blithe and pleasant Spring-time, 

In the Moan of Leaves he built it, 

And, with dreams and visions many, 

Seven whole days and nights he fasted. 15 

On the first day of his fasting 
Through the leafy woods he wandered; 
Saw the deer start from the thicket, 
Saw the rabbit in his burrow, 
Heard the pheasant, Bena, drumming, 20 

Heard the Squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Eattling in his hoard of acorns, 
Saw the pigeon, the Omeme, 
Building nests among the pine-trees, 
And in flocks the wild goose, Wawa, 25 

Flying to the fen-lands northward, 
Whining, wailing far above him. 
" Master of Life! " he cried, desponding, 
" Must our lives depend on these things? " 

On the next day of his fasting 30 

By the rivers brink he wandered, 
Through the Muskoday, the meadow, 
Saw the wild rice, Mahnomonee, 
Saw the blueberry, Meenahga, 
And the strawberry, Odahmin, 35 



13. Moon of Leaves. May. 

20. Bena— Be'na. The pheasant. 

23. Omeme— O-me'me. The pigeon. 

33. Mahnomonee — Mahn-0-mO'nee. Wild rice. 

34. Meenahga — Mee-nah'ga. The blueberry. 

35. Odahmin— O-dah'mln. The strawberry. 



66 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And the gooseberry, Shahbomin, 

And the grape-vine, the Bemahgut, 

Trailing o'er the alder-branches, 

Filling all the air with fragrance! 

" Master of Life!" he cried, desponding, 40 

"Must our lives depend on these things?" 

On the third day of his fasting 
By the lake he sat and pondered, 
By the still, transparent water; 
Saw the sturgeon, Nah'ma, leaping, 45 

Scattering drops like beads of wampum, 
Saw the yellow perch, the Sahwa, 
Like a sunbeam in the water, 
Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, 
And the herring, the Okahahwis, 50 

And the Shawgashee, the craw-fish! 
" Master of Life! " he cried, desponding, 
"Must our lives depend on these things?" 

On the fourth day of his fasting 
In his lodge he lay exhausted; 55 

From his couch of leaves and branches 
Gazing with half-open eyelids, 
Full of shadowy dreams and visions, 
On the dizzy, swimming landscape, 
On the gleaming of the water, 60 

On the splendor of the sunset. 

- 36. Shahbomin— Shah-bO'min. The gooseberry. 
37. Bemahgut— BS-mah'gut. The grapevine. 
45. Nahma— Nah'ma. The sturgeon. 
47. Sahwa— Sah'wa. The perch. 

49. Maskenozha— Miis-ke-nO'zha. The pike. 

50. Okahahwis— O-ka-hah'wis. The fresh-water herring 

51. Shaw-gashee— Shftw-ga-shee', The crawfish. 



67 

And he saw a youth approaching, 
Dressed in garments green and yellow, 
Coming through the purple twilight, 
Through the splendor of the sunset; 65 

Plumes of green bent o'er his forehead, 
And his hair was soft and golden. 

Standing at the open doorway, 
Long he looked at Hiawatha, 
Looked with pity and compassion 70 

On his wasted form and features, 
And, in accents like the sighing 
Of the South-Wind in the tree-tops, 
Said he, " Oh, my Hiawatha! 
All your prayers are heard in heaven, 75 

For you pray not like the others, 
Not for greater skill in hunting, 
Not for greater craft in fishing, 
Not for triumph in the battle, 
Nor renown among the warriors, 80 

But for profit of the people, 
For advantage of the nations. 

" From the Master of Life descending, 
I, the friend of man, Mondamin, 
Come to warn you and instruct you, 85 

How by struggle and by labor 
You shall gain what you have prayed for. 
Eise up from your bed of branches, 
Eise, youth, and wrestle with me! " 



84. Mondamin— M6n-da'mln. Indian corn or maize. This legend of 
its origin is an Ojibway tale given by Schoolcraft in ll Algic Researches." 



68 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Faint with famine, Hiawatha 90 

Started from his bed of branches, 
From the twilight of his wigwam 
Forth into the flush of sunset 
Came and wrestled with Mondamin; 
At his touch he felt new courage 95 

Throbbing in his brain and bosom, 
Felt new life and hope and vigor 
Eun through every nerve and fiber. 

So they wrestled there together 
In the glory of the sunset, 100 

And the more they strove and struggled, 
Stronger still grew Hiawatha; 
Till the darkness fell around them, 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her nest among the pine-trees, 105 

Gave a cry of lamentation, 
Gave a scream of pain and famine. 

"'Tis enough!" then said Mondamin, 
Smiling upon Hiawatha, 

"But to-morrow, when the sun sets, 110 

I will come again to try you." 
And he vanished, and was seen not; 
Whether sinking as the rain sinks, 
Whether rising as the mists rise, 
Hiawatha saw not, knew not, 115 

Only saw that he had vanished, 
Leaving him alone and fainting, 
With the misty lake below him, 
And the reeling stars above him, 



hiawatha's fasting 69 

On the morrow and the next day, 120 

When the sun through heaven descending, 
Like a red and burning cinder 
From the hearth of the Great Spirit, 
Fell into the western waters. 
Came Mondamin for the trial, 125 

For the strife with Hiawatha; 
Came as silent as the dew comes, 
From the empty air appearing, 
Into empty air returning, 

Taking shape when earth it touches, 130 

But invisible to all men 
In its coming and its going. 

Thrice they wrestled there together 
In the glory of the sunset, 

Till the darkness fell around them, 135 

Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her nest among the pine-trees, 
Uttered her loud cry of famine, 
And Mondamin paused to listen. 

Tall and beautiful he stood there, 140 

In his garments green and yellow; 
To and fro his plumes above him 
Waved and nodded with his breathing, 
And the sweat of the encounter 
Stood like drops of dew upon him. 145 

And he cried, " Hiawatha! 
Bravely have you wrestled with me, 
Thrice have wrestled stoutly with me, 



70 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And the Master of Life who sees us, 

He will give to you the triumph! " 150 

Then he smiled and said: " To-morrow 
Is the last day of your conflict, 
Is the last day of your fasting. 
You will conquer and overcome me; 
Make a bed for me to lie in, 155 

Where the rain may fall upon me, 
Where the sun may come and warm me; 
Strip these garments, green and yellow, 
Strip this nodding plumage from me, 
Lay me in the earth, and make it 160 

Soft and loose and light above me. 

" Let no hand disturb my slumber, 
Let no weed nor worm molest me, 
Let not Kahgahgee, the raven, 
Come to haunt me and molest me, 165 

Only come yourself to watch me, 
Till I wake, and start, and quicken, 
Till I leap into the sunshine." 

And thus saying, he departed. 
Peacefully slept Hiawatha, 170 

But he heard the Wawonaissa,, 
Heard the whippoorwill complaining, 
Perched upon his lonely wigwam; 
Heard the rushing Sebowisha, 
Heard the rivulet rippling near him, 175 



164. Kahgahgee— Kah -gab-gee 7 . The raven. 

171. Wawonaissa— Wa-w5-nais'sa. The whippoorwill. 

174. Sebowisha— Se-bO-wieh'a. The brook. 



hiawatha's fasting 11 

Talking to the darksome forest; 

Heard the sighing of the branches, 

As they lifted and subsided 

At the passing of the night-wind, 

Heard them, as one hears in slumber 180 

Far-off murmurs, dreamy whispers: 

Peacefully slept Hiawatha. 

On the morrow came Nokomis, 
On the seventh day of his fasting, 
Came with food for Hiawatha, 185 

Came imploring and bewailing, 
Lest his hunger should o'ercome him, 
Lest his fasting should be fatal. 

But he tasted not, and touched not, 
Only said to her, " Xokomis, 190 

Wait until the sun is setting, 
Till the darkness falls around us, 
Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Crying from the desolate marshes, 
Tells us that the day is ended." 195 

Homeward weeping went Xokomis, 
Sorrowing for her Hiawatha, 
Fearing lest his strength should fail him, 
Lest his fasting should be fatal. 
He meanwhile sat weary waiting 200 

For the coming of Mondamin, 
Till the shadows, pointing eastward, 
Lengthened over field and forest, 
Till the sun dropped from the heaven, 

176. Darksome. Dark. 



72 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Floating on the waters westward, 205 

As a red leaf in the Autumn 
Falls and floats upon the water, 
Falls and sinks into its bosom. 

And behold! the young Mondamin, 
With his soft and shining tresses, 210 

With his garments green and yellow, 
With his long and glossy plumage, 
Stood and beckoned at the doorway. 
And as one in slumber walking, 
Pale and haggard, but undaunted, 215 

From the wigwam Hiawatha 
Came and wrestled with Mondamin. 

Bound about him spun the landscape, 
Sky and forest reeled together, 
And his strong heart leaped within him, 220 

As the sturgeon leaps and struggles 
In a net to break its meshes. 
Like a ring of fire around him 
Blazed and flared the red horizon, 
And a hundred suns seemed looking 225 

At the combat of the wrestlers. 

Suddenly upon the greensward 
All alone stood Hiawatha, 
Panting with his wild exertion, 
Palpitating with the struggle; 230 

And before him, breathless, lifeless, 
Lay the youth, with hair disheveled, 
Plumage torn, and garments tattered, 
Dead he lay there in the sunset. 



Hiawatha's fasting 73 

And victorious Hiawatha 235 

Made the grave as he commanded, 
Stripped the garments from Mondamin, 
Stripped his tattered plumage from him, 
Laid him in the earth, and made it 
Soft and loose and light above him; 240 

And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From the melancholy moorlands, 
(Nave a cry of lamentation, 
Gave a cry of pain and anguish! 

Homeward then went Hiawatha. 245 

To the lodge of old Xokomis, 
And the seven days of his fasting 
Were accomplished and completed. 
But the place was not forgotten 
Where he wrestled with Mondamin; 250 

Nor forgotten nor neglected 
Was the grave where lay Mondamin, 
Sleeping in the rain and sunshine, 
Where his scattered plumes and garments 
Faded in the rain and sunshine. 255 

Day by day did Hiawatha 
Go to wait and watch beside it; 
Kept the dark mold soft above it, 
Kept it clean from weeds and insects, 
Drove away, with scoffs and shoutings, 260 

Kahgahgee, the king of ravens. 

Till at length a small green feather 
From the earth shot slowly upward, 
Then another and another, 



74 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And before the Summer ended 265 

Stood the maize in all its beauty, 

With its shining robes about it, 

And its long, soft, yellow tresses; 

And in rapture Hiawatha 

Cried aloud, "It is Mondamin! 270 

Yes, the friend of man, Mondamin! " 

Then he called to old Nokomis 
And Iagoo, the great boaster, 
Showed them where the maize was growing, 
Told them of his wondrous vision, 275 

Of his wrestling and his triumph, 
Of this new gift to the nations, 
Which should be their food forever. 

And still later, when the Autumn 
Changed the long, green leaves to yellow, 280 
And the soft and juicy kernels 
Grew like wampum hard and yellow, 
Then the ripened ears he gathered, 
Stripped the withered husks from off them, 
As he once had stripped the wrestler, 285 

Gave the first Feast of Mondamin, 
And made known unto the people 
This new gift of the Great Spirit. 



hiawatha's friends 75 

VI 

hiawatha's friends 

Two good friends had Hiawatha, 
Singled out from all the others, 
Bound to him in closest union, 
And to whom he gave the right hand 
Of his heart, in joy and sorrow; 5 

Chibiabos, the musician, 
And the very strong man, Kwasind. 

Straight between them ran the pathway, 
Never grew the grass upon it; 
Singing birds, that utter falsehoods, 10 

Story-tellers, mischief-makers, 
Found no eager ear to listen, 
Could not breed ill-will between them, 
For they kept each other's counsel, 
Spake with naked hearts together, 15 

Pondering much and much contriving 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 

Most beloved by Hiawatha 
Was the gentle Chibiabos, 

He the best of all musicians, 20 

He the sweetest of all singers. 
Beautiful and childlike was he, 
Brave as man is, soft as woman, 
Pliant as a wand of willow, 
Stately as a deer with antlers. 25 

6. Chibiabos-Chl-bl-a'bOs. 7. Kwasind— Kwa'eind. 



76 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

When he sang, the village listened; 
All the warriors gathered round him, 
All the women came to hear him; 
Now he stirred their souls to passion, 
Now he melted them to pity. 30 

From the hollow reeds he fashioned 
Flutes so musical and mellow, 
That the brook, the Sebowisha, 
Ceased to murmur in the woodland, 
That the wood-birds ceased from singing, 35 

And the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Ceased his chatter in the oak-tree, 
And the rabbit, the Wabasso, 
Sat upright to look and listen. 

Yes, the brook, the Sebowisha, 40 

Pausing, said, " Chibiabos, 
Teach my waves to flow in music, 
Softly as your words in singing! " 

Yes, the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
Envious, said, " Chibiabos, 45 

Teach me tones as wild and wayward, 
Teach me songs as full of frenzy! " 

Yes, the robin, the Opechee, 
Joyous, said, " Chibiabos, 
Teach me tones as sweet and tender, 50 

Teach me songs as full of gladness!" 

And the whippoorwill, Wawonaissa., 
Sobbing, said, " Chibiabos, 
Teach me tones as melancholy, 
Teach me songs as full of sadness! " 55 



hiawatha's friends 77 

All the manv sounds of nature 
Borrowed sweetness from his singing; 
All the hearts of men were softened 
By the pathos of his music: 
For he sang of peace and freedom, 60 

Sang of beauty, love, and longing; 
Sang of death, and life undying 
In the Islands of the Blessed, 
In the kingdom of Ponemah, 
In the land of the Hereafter. 65 

Very dear to Hiawatha 
"Was the gentle Chibiabos, 
He the best of all musicians, 
He the sweetest of all singers; 
For his gentleness he loved him, 70 

And the magic of his singing. 

Dear, too, unto Hiawatha 
Was the very strong man, Kwasind, 
He the strongest of all mortals, 
He the mightiest among many; 75 

For his very strength he loved him, 
For his strength allied to goodness. 

Idle in his youth was Kwasind, 
Very listless, dull, and dreamy/ 
Xever played with other children, 80 

Xever fished and never hunted, 
Not like other children was he; 
But they saw that much he fasted, 

64. Ponemah— P0-n6'mah. The land of the Hereafter. 



78 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Much his Manito entreated, 

Much besought his Guardian Spirit. 85 

"Lazy Kwasind! " said his mother, 
"In my work you never help me! 
In the Summer you are roaming 
Idly in the fields and forests; 
In the Winter you are cowering . 90 

O'er the firebrands in the wigwam! 
In the coldest' days of Winter 
I must break the ice for fishing; 
With my .nets you never help me! 
At the door my nets are hanging, 95 

Dripping, freezing with the water; 
Go and wring them, Yenadizze! 
Go and dry them in the sunshine! " 

Slowly, from the ashes, Kwasind 
Eose, but made no angry answer; 100 

From the lodge went forth in silence, 
Took the nets, that hung together, 
Dripping, freezing at the doorway, 
Like a wisp of straw he wrung them, 
Like a wisp of straw he broke them, 105 

Could not wring them without breaking, 
Such the strength was in his fingers. 

84. His Manito— Man'i-tO. Each primitive Indian has his guardian 
manitou which helps, counsels, and protects him. This manitou, beast, 
bird, or other object, animate or inanimate, appears to him in dreams or 
visions during his fast. The Indian thenceforth wears about him some 
portion of the object revealed in his dream, and this is called his 
44 medicine." 

94. Nets are set in winter in high northern latitudes through holes 
cut in the ice. 

97. Yenadizze— ^e-na-diz'ze. Idler, lazy fellow, dandy. 



hiatvatha's friends 19 

" Lazy Kwasind! " said his father, 
" In the hunt you never help me; 
Every bow you touch is broken, 110 

Snapped asunder every arrow; 
Yet come with me to the forest, 
You shall bring the hunting homeward." 

Down a narrow pass they wandered, 
Where a brooklet led them onward, 115 

Where the trail of deer and bison 
Marked the soft mud on the margin, 
Till they found all further passage 
Shut against them, barred securely 
By the trunks of trees uprooted, 120 

Lying lengthwise, lying crosswise, 
And forbidding further passage. 

" We must go back," said the old man, 
" O'er these logs we cannot clamber; 
Xot a woodchuck could get through them, 125 
Not a squirrel clamber o'er them! " 
And straightway his pipe he lighted, 
And sat down to smoke and ponder. 
But before his pipe was finished, 
Lo! the path was cleared before him; 130 

All the trunks had Kwasind lifted, 
To the right hand, to the left hand, 
Shot the pine-trees swift as arrows, 
Hurled the cedars light as lances. 

" Lazy Kwasind!" said the young men, 135 
As they sported in the meadow; 
" Why stand idly looking at us, 



80 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Leaning on the rock behind you? 
Come and wrestle with the others, 
Let us pitch the quoit together! " 140 

Lazy Kwasind made no answer, 
To their challenge made no answer, 
Only rose, and, slowly turning, 
Seized the huge rock in his fingers, 
Tore it from its deep foundation, 145 

Poised it in the air a moment, 
Pitched it sheer into the river, 
Sheer into the swift Pauwating, 
Where it still is seen in Summer. 

Once as down that foaming river, 150 

Down the rapids of Pauwating, 
Kwasind sailed with his companions, 
In the stream he saw a beaver, 
Saw Ahmeek, the King of Beavers, 
Struggling with the rushing currents, 155 

Eising, sinking in the water. 

Without speaking, without pausing, 
Kwasind leaped into the river, 
Plunged beneath the bubbling surface, 
Through the whirlpools chased the beaver, 160 
Followed him among the islands, 
Stayed so long beneath the water, 
That his terrified companions 



148. Sheer. Immediately, entirely ; the word has an intensive 
sense. 

151. Pauwating— Pau-wa'ting. (Place of shallow cataract). Named 
by the French settlers, Sault Sainte Marie. 

154. Ahmeek— Ah-meek'. The king of beavers. 




w 

o 

< 
u 

5 

< 



Hiawatha's sailing 81 

Cried, " Alas! good-by to Kwasind! 

We shall never more see Kwasind! " 165 

But he reappeared triumphant, 

And upon his shining shoulders 

Brought the beaver, dead and dripping, 

Brought the King of all the Beavers. 

And these two, as I have told you, 170 

Were the friends of Hiawatha, 
Chibiabos, the musician, 
And the very strong man, Kwasind. 
Long they lived in peace together, 
Spake with naked hearts together, 175 

Pondering much and much contriving 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 

VII 

hiawatha's sailing 

" Give me of your bark, Birch-Tree! 
Of your yellow bark, Birch-Tree! 
Growing by the rushing river, 
Tall and stately in the valley! 

1-95. The only parallel story in the " Kalevala n and "Hiawatha " is 
the description of the building of a boat. In the " Kalevala " Waina- 
moinen sends a man to cut wood for his boat. This man addresses the 
trees and receives answers from them, but these addresses and answers 
are unlike those in " Hiawatha," as may be seen by this selection from 
the "Kalevala": 

11 And the oak he thus addresses : 

1 Ancient oak-tree, will thy body 

Furnish wood to build a vessel, 

Build a boat for Wainamoinen, 



82 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

I a light canoe will build me, 5 

Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing, 
That shall float upon the river, 
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily! 

"Lay aside your cloak, Birch-Tree! 10 

Lay aside your white-skin wrapper, 
For the Summer-time is coming, 
And the sun is warm in heaven, 
And you need no white-skin wrapper! * 

Thus aloud cried Hiawatha 15 

In the solitary forest, 
By the rushing Taquamenaw 
When the birds were singing gayly, 
In the Moon of Leaves were singing, 
And the sun, from sleep awaking, 20 

Master-boat for the magician, 

Wisest of the wisdom-singers?' 

Thus the oak replies to Sampsa : 

* I for thee will gladly furnish 

Wood to build the hero's vessel ; 

I am tall, and sound, and hardy, 

Have no flaws within my body; 

Three times in the months of summer, 

In the warmest of the seasons, 

Does the sun dwell in my tree-top. 

On my trunk the moonlight glimmers, 

In my branches sings the cuckoo, 

In my top her nestlings slumber.' " 
6. Cheemaun— Chee-maun'. A birch canoe. Catlin says, "The 
bark canoe of the Chippeways is, perhaps, the most beautiful and light 
model of all the water crafts that ever were invented. They are gen- 
erally made complete with the rind of one birch-tree, and so ingeni- 
ously shaped, and sewed together with roots of the tamarack which 
they call wattap, that they are water-tight and ride upon the water as 
light as a cork." 

17. Taquamenaw— Ta-qua-me'naw. A river of northern Michigan 
which flows into Lake Superior. 



hiawatha's sailing 83 

Started up and said, "Behold me! 
Gheezis, the great Sun, behold me! " 

And the tree with all its branches 
Bustled in the breeze of morning, 
Saying, with a sigh of patience, 25 

" Take my cloak, Hiawatha! " 

With his knife the tree he girdled; 
Just beneath its lowest branches, 
Just above the roots, he cut it, 
Till the sap came oozing outward; 30 

Down the trunk, from top to bottom, 
Sheer he cleft the bark asunder, 
With a wooden wedge he raised it, 
Stripped it from the trunk unbroken. 

" Give me of your boughs, Cedar! 35 

Of your strong and pliant branches, 
My canoe to make more steady, 
Make more strong and firm beneath me! " 

Through the summit of the Cedar 
Went a sound, a cry of horror, 40 

Went a murmur of resistance; 
But it whispered, bending downward, 
" Take my boughs, Hiawatha! " 

Down he hewed the boughs of cedar, 
Shaped them straightway to a framework, 45 

Like two bows he formed and shaped them, 
Like two bended bows together. 

" Give me of your roots, Tamarack! 
Of your fibrous roots, Larch-Tree! 
My canoe to bind together, 50 

22. Gheezis— Ghee'zls. The eun. 



84 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

So to bind the ends together 
That the water may not enter, 
That the river may not wet me! " 

And the Larch, with all its fibers, 
Shivered in the air of morning, 55 

Touched his forehead with its tassels, 
Said, with one long sigh of sorrow, 
" Take them all, Hiawatha! " 

From the earth he tore the fibers, 
Tore the tough roots of the Larch-Tree, 60 

Closely sewed the bark together, 
Bound it closely to the framework. 

" Give me of your balm, Fir-Tree! 
Of your balsam and your resin, 
So to close the seams together . 65 

That the water may not enter, 
That the river may not wet me! " 

And the Fir-Tree, tall and somber, 
Sobbed through all its robes of darkness, 
Battled like a shore with pebbles, 70 

Answered wailing, answered weeping, 
" Take my balm, Hiawatha! " 

And he took the tears of balsam, 
Took the resin of the Fir-Tree, 
Smeared therewith each seam and fissure, 75 

Made each crevice safe from water. 

" Give me of your quills, Hedgehog! 
All your quills, Kagh, the Hedgehog! 
I will make a necklace of them, 

78. Kagh— KSgh. The hedgehog. 



85 

Make a girdle for my beauty, 80 

And two stars to deck her bosom! " 

From a hollow tree the Hedgehog 
With his sleepy eyes looked at him, 
Shot his shining quills, like arrows, 
Saying, with a drowsy murmur, 85 

Through the tangle of his whiskers, 
"Take my quills, Hiawatha!" 

From the ground the quills he gathered, 
All the little shining arrows, 
Stained them red and blue and yellow, 90 

With the juice of roots and berries; 
Into his canoe he wrought them, 
Bound its waist a shining girdle, 
Round its bows a gleaming necklace, 
On its breast two stars resplendent. 95 

Thus the Birch Canoe was builded 
In the valley, by the river, 
In the bosom of the forest; 
And the forest's life was in it, 
All its mystery and its magic, 100 

All the lightness of the birch-tree, 
All the toughness of the cedar, 
All the larch's supple sinews; 
And it floated on the river 

Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 105 

Like a yellow water-lily. 

Paddles none had Hiawatha, 
Paddles none he had or needed, 

108. According to the Algonquin legend, Manabozho "had only to 
will or to speak, and the canoe went." 



86 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

For his thoughts as paddles served him, 

And his wishes served to guide him; 110 

Swift or slow at will he glided, 

Veered to right or left at pleasure. 

Then he called aloud to Kwasind, 
To his friend, the strong man, Kwasind, 
Saying, " Help me clear this river 115 

Of its sunken logs and sand-bars." 

Straight into the river Kwasind 
Plunged as if he were an otter, 
Dived as if he were a beaver, 
Stood up to his waist in water, 120 

To his arm-pits in the river, 
Swam and shouted in the river, 
Tugged at sunken logs and branches, 
With his hands he scooped the sand-bars, 
With his feet the ooze and tangle. 125 

And thus sailed my Hiawatha 
Down the rushing Taquamenaw, 
Sailed through all its bends and windings, 
Sailed through all its deeps and shallows, 
While his friend, the strong man, Kwasind, 130 
Swam the deeps, the shallows waded. 

Up and down the river went they, 
In and out among its islands, 
Cleared its bed of root and sand-bar, 
Dragged the dead trees from its channel, 135 
Made its passage safe and certain, 
Made a pathway for the people, 
From its springs among the mountains, 






hiawatha's fishing 8*7 

To the waters of Pauwating, 

To the bay of Taquamenaw. 140 



VIII 

hiawatha's fishing 

Forth upon the Gitche Gumee, 
On the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
With his fishing-line of cedar, 
Of the twisted bark of cedar, 

Forth to catch the sturgeon, Nahma, 5 

Mishe-Xahma, King of Fishes, 
In his birch canoe exulting 
All alone went Hiawatha. 

Through the clear, transparent water 
He could see the fishes swimming 10 

Far down in the depths below him; 
See the yellow perch, the Sahwa, 
Like a sunbeam in the water, 
See the Shawgashee, the craw-fish, 
Like a spider on the bottom, 15 

On the white and sandy bottom. 

At the stern sat Hiawatha, 
With his fishing-line of cedar; 
In his plumes the breeze of morning 
Played as in the hemlock branches; 20 

On the bows, with tail erected, 
Sat the squirrel, Adjidaumo; 

6. Mishe-Nahma— Mieh-e-Nah'ma. The great sturgeon. 



88 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

In his fur the breeze of morning 
Played as in the prairie grasses. 

On the white sand of the bottom 25 

Lay the monster Mishe-Nahma, 
Lay the sturgeon, King of Fishes; 
Through his gills he breathed the water. 
With his fins he fanned and winnowed. 
With his tail he swept the sand-floor. 30 

There he lay in all his armor; 
On each side a shield to guard him, 
Plates of bone upon his forehead, 
Down his sides and back and shoulders 
Plates of bone with spines projecting, 35 

Painted was he with his war-paints, 
Stripes of yellow, red, and azure, 
Spots of brown and spots of sable; 
And he lay there on the bottom, 
Fanning with his fins of purple, 40 

As above him Hiawatha 
In his birch canoe came sailing, 
With his fishing-line of cedar. 

" Take my bait! " cried Hiawatha, 
Down into the depths beneath him, 45 

" Take my bait, Sturgeon, Nahma! 
- Come up from below the water, 
Let us see which is the stronger! " 
And he dropped his line of cedar 
Through the clear, transparent water, 50 

Waited vainly for an answer, 
Long sat waiting for an answer. 



hiawatha's fishing 89 

And repeating loud and louder, 

" Take my bait. King of Fishes! " 

Quiet lay the sturgeon, Nahma, 55 

Fanning slowly in the water, 
Looking up at Hiawatha, 
Listening to his call and clamor, 
His unnecessary tumult, 

Till he wearied of the shouting; 60 

And he said to the Kenozha, 
To the pike, the Maskenozha, 
" Take the bait of this rude fellow, 
Break the line of Hiawatha! " 

In his fingers Hiawatha 65 

Felt the loose line jerk and tighten; 
As he drew it in, it tugged so, 
That the birch canoe stood endwise, 
Like a birch log in the water, 
With the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 70 

Perched and frisking on the summit. 

Full of scorn was Hiawatha 
When he saw the fish rise upward. 
Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, 
Coming nearer, nearer to him, 75 

And he shouted through the water, 
"Esa! esa! shame upon you! 
You are but the pike, Kenozha, 
You are not the fish I wanted, 
You are not the King of Fishes! " 80 



61. Kenozha— K6-n0'zha. The pickerel, 
77. Esa— £'sa. Shame upon you, 



90 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Eeeling downward to the bottom 
Sank the pike in great confusion, 
And the mighty sturgeon, Nahma, 
Said to Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
To the bream, with scales of crimson, 85 

" Take the bait of this great boaster, 
Break the line of Hiawatha! " 

Slowly upward, wavering, gleaming, 
Rose the Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
Seized the line of Hiawatha, 90 

Swung with all his weight upon it, 
Made a whirlpool in the water, 
Whirled the birch canoe in circles, 
Round and round in gurgling eddies, 
Till the circles in the water 95 

Reached the far-off sandy beaches, 
Till the water-flags and rushes 
Nodded on the distant margins. 

But when Hiawatha saw him 
Slowly rising through the water, 100 

Lifting up his disk refulgent, 
Loud he shouted in derision, 
"Esa! esa! shame upon you! 
You are Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
You are not the fish I wanted, 105 

You are not the King of Fishes! " 

Slowly downward, wavering, gleaming, 
Sank the Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 



84. Ugudwash— U-gud-w&sh'. Theeunfish. 

85. Bream— An English name for the eunfish, 



Hiawatha's fishing 91 

And again the sturgeon, Xahma, 

Heard the shout of Hiawatha, 110 

Heard his challenge of defiance, 

The unnecessary tumult, 

Kinging far across the water. 

From the white sand of the bottom 
Up he rose with angry gesture, 115 

Quivering in each nerve and fiber, 
Clashing all his plates of armor, 
Gleaming bright with all his war-paint; 
In his wrath he darted upward, 
Flashing leaped into the sunshine, 120 

Opened his great jaws, and swallowed 
Both canoe and Hiawatha. 

Down into that darksome cavern 
Plunged the headlong Hiawatha, 
As a log on some black river 125 

Shoots and plunges down the rapids, 
Found himself in utter darkness, 
Groped about in helpless wonder, 
Till he felt a great heart beating, 
Throbbing in that utter darkness. 130 

And he smote it in his anger, 
With his fist, the heart of Nahma, 
Felt the mighty King of Fishes 
Shudder through each nerve and fiber, 
Heard the water gurgle round him 135 

As he leaped and staggered through it, 
Sick at heart, and faint and weary. 

Crosswise then did Hiawatha 



92 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Drag his birch-canoe for safety, 

Lest from out the jaws of Nahma, 140 

In the turmoil and confusion, 

Forth he might be hurled and perish. 

And the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 

Frisked and chattered very gayly, 

Toiled and tugged with Hiawatha 145 

Till the labor was completed. 

Then said Hiawatha to him, 
" my little friend, the squirrel, 
Bravely have you toiled to help me; 
Take the thanks of Hiawatha, 150 

And the name which now he gives you; 
For hereafter and forever 
Boys shall call you Adjidaumo, 
Tail-in-air the boys shall call you! " 

And again the sturgeon, Nahma, 155 

Gasped and quivered in the water, 
Then was still, and drifted landward 
Till he grated on the pebbles, 
Till the listening Hiawatha 

Heard him grate upon the margin, 160 

Felt him strand upon the pebbles, 
Knew that Nahma, King of Fishes, 
Lay there dead upon the margin. 

Then he heard a clang and flapping, 
As of many wings assembling, 165 

Heard a screaming and confusion, 
As of birds of prey contending, 
Saw a gleam of light above him, 



hiawatha's fishing 93 

Shining through the ribs of Nahma, 

Saw the glittering eyes of sea-gulls, 170 

Of Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, peering, 

Gazing at him through the opening, 

Heard them saying to each other, 

" Tis our brother. Hiawatha! " 

And he shouted from below them, 175 

Cried exulting from the caverns: 
" ye sea-gulls! my brothers! 
I have slain the sturgeon, Nahma; 
Make the rifts a little larger, 
With your claws the openings widen, 180 

Set me free from this dark prison, 
And henceforward and forever 
Men shall speak of your achievements, 
Calling you Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, 
Yes, Kayoshk, the Xoble Scratchers! " 185 

And the wild and clamorous sea-gulls 
Toiled with beak and claws together, 
Made the rifts and openings wider 
In the mighty ribs of Xahma, 
And from peril and from prison, 190 

From the body of the sturgeon, 
From the peril of the water, 
They released my Hiawatha. 

He was standing near his wigwam, 
On the margin of the water, 195 

And he called to old Nokomis, 
Called and beckoned to Nokomis, 

185. Kayoshk— KS-yOshk'. (" Noble scratcher ") the sea-gull. 



94 THE SONG 6F HIAWATHA 

Pointed to the sturgeon, Nahma, 

Lying lifeless on the pebbles, 

With the sea-gulls feeding on him. 200 

" I have slain the Mishe-Nahma, 
Slain the King of Fishes! " said he; 
" Look! the sea-gulls feed upon him, 
Yes, my friend Kayoshk, the sea-gulls. 
Drive them not away, Nokomis, 205 

They have saved me from great peril 
In the body of the sturgeon; 
Wait until their meal is ended, 
Till their craws are full with feasting, 
Till they homeward fly, at sunset, 210 

To their nests among the marshes; 
Then bring all your pots and kettles, 
And make oil for us in Winter." 

And she waited till the sun set, 
Till the pallid moon, the night-sun, 215 

Eose above the tranquil water, 
Till Kayoshk, the sated sea-gulls, 
From their banquet rose with clamor, 
And across the fiery sunset 

Winged their way to far-off islands, 220 

To their nests among the rushes. 

To his sleep went Hiawatha, 
And Nokomis to her labor, 
Toiling patient in the moonlight, 
Till the sun and moon changed places, 225 

Till the sky was red with sunrise, 
And Kayoshk, the hungry sea-gulls, 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHER 95 

Came back from the reedy islands, 
Clamorous for their morning banquet. 

Three whole days and nights alternate 230 

Old Nokomis and the sea-gulls 
Stripped the oily flesh of Xahma, 
Till the waves washed through the rib-bones, 
Till the sea-gulls came no longer, 
And upon the sands lay nothing 235 

But the skeleton of Xahma. 



IX 

HIAWATHA AXD THE PEARL-FEATHER 

On the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
Of the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
Stood Nokomis, the old woman, 
Pointing with her ringer westward, 
O'er the water pointing westward, 5 

To the purple clouds of sunset. 

Fiercely the red sun descending 
Burned his way along the heavens, 
Set the sky on fire behind him, 
As war-parties, when retreating, 10 

Burn the prairies on their war-trail; 
And the moon, the Xight-sun, eastward, 
Suddenly starting from his ambush, 
Followed fast those bloody footprints, 
Followed in that fiery war-trail, 15 

With its glare upon his features. 



96 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And Nokomis, the old woman, 
Pointing with her finger westward, 
Spake these words to Hiawatha: 
" Yonder dwells the great Pearl-Feather, 20 

Megissogwon, the Magician, 
Manito of Wealth and Wampum, 
Guarded by his fiery serpents, 
Guarded by the black pitch-water. 
You can see his fiery serpents, 25 

The Kenabeek, the great serpents, 
Coiling, playing in the water; 
You can see the black pitch-water 
Stretching far away beyond them, 
To the purple clouds of sunset! 30 

" He it was who slew my father, 
By his wicked wiles and cunning, 
When he from the moon descended, 
When he came on earth to seek me. 
He, the mightiest of Magicians, 35 

Sends the fever from the marshes, 
Sends the pestilential vapors, 
Sends the poisonous exhalations, 
Sends the white fog from the fen-lands, 
Sends disease and death among us! 40 

" Take your bow, Hiawatha, 
Take your arrows, jasper-headed, 
Take your war-club, Pugawaugun, 
And your mittens, Minjekahwun, 

20. The Great Pearl-Feather. A manitou of evil. 

43. Pugawaugun— Pu-ga-waii'gun. A war club of hard wood. 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHER 97 

And your birch canoe for sailing, 45 

And the oil of Mishe-Xahma, 

So to smear its sides, that swiftly 

You may pass the black pitch-water; 

Slay this merciless magician, 

Save the people from the fever 50 

That he breathes across the fen-lands, 

And avenge my father's murder! " 

Straightway then my Hiawatha 
Armed himself with all his war-gear, 
Launched his birch canoe for sailing; 55 

With his palm its sides he patted, 
Said with glee, " Cheemaun, my darling, 
my Birch-Canoe! leap forward, 
Where you see the fiery serpents, 
Where you see the black pitch- water! " 60 

Forward leaped Cheemaun exulting, 
And the noble Hiawatha 
Sang his war-song wild and woeful, 
And above him the war-eagle, 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle, 65 

Master of all fowls with feathers, 
Screamed and hurtled through the heavens. 

Soon he reached the fiery serpents, 
The Kenabeek, the great serpents, 
Lying huge upon the water, 70 

Sparkling, rippling in the water, 
Lying coiled across the passage, 
With their blazing crests uplifted, 

67. Hurtled-(Freq. of hurt). Rushed. 



98 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Breathing fiery fogs and vapors, 

So that none could pass beyond them. 75 

But the fearless Hiawatha 
Cried aloud, and spake in this wise: 
" Let me pass my way, Kenabeek, 
Let me go upon my journey! " 
And they answered, hissing fiercely, 80 

With their fiery breath made answer: 
" Back, go back! Shaugodaya! 
Back to old Nokomis, Faint-heart! " 

Then the angry Hiawatha 
Kaised his mighty bow of ash-tree, 85 

Seized his arrows, jasper-headed, 
Shot them fast among the serpents; 
Every twanging of the bow-string 
Was a war-cry and a death-cry, 
Every whizzing of an arrow 90 

Was a death-song of Kenabeek. 

Weltering in the bloody water, 
Dead lay all the fiery serpents, 
And among them Hiawatha 

Harmless sailed, and cried exulting: 95 

" Onward, Cheemaun, my darling! 
Onward to the black pitch- water! " 

Then he took the oil of Nahma, 
And the bows and sides anointed, 
Smeared them well with oil, that swiftly 100 

He might pass the black pitch-water. 

All night long he sailed upon it, 
Sailed upon that sluggish water, 



HIAWATHA AKD THE PEARL-FEATHER 99 

Covered with its mold of ages, 

Black with rotting water-rushes, 105 

Eank with flags and leaves of lilies, 

Stagnant, lifeless, dreary, dismal, 

Lighted by the shimmering moonlight, 

And by will-o'-the-wisps illumined, 

Fires by hosts of dead men kindled, 110 

In their weary night-encampments. 

All the air was white with moonlight, 
All the water black with shadow, 
And around him the Suggema, 
The mosquitoes, sang their war-song, 115 

And the fire-flies, YVah-wah-taysee, 
Waved their torches to mislead him; 
And the bull-frog, the Dahinda, 
Thrust his head into the moonlight, 
Fixed his yellow eyes upon him, 120 

Sobbed and sank beneath the surface; 
And anon a thousand whistles, 
Answered over all the fen-lands, 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Far off on the reedy margin, 125 

Heralded the hero's coming. 

Westward thus fared Hiawatha, 
Toward the realm of Megissogwon, 

111. See XV, 172-177. The Indians lighted a fire on a grave for four 
nights after burial of a body. It was said to be four days' journeys 
to the spirit-land, and if friends neglected to kindle this fire the spirit 
of the deceased was delayed by having to collect fuel and build a fire 
for the nightly encampment. 

114. Suggema— Sug-gg'ma. The mosquito. 

118. Dahinda-Da-hm'da. The bullfrog. 



100 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Toward the land of the Pearl-Feather, 

Till the level moon stared at him, 130 

In his face stared pale and haggard, 

Till the sun was hot behind him, 

Till it burned upon his shoulders, 

And before him on the upland 

He could see the Shining Wigwam 135 

Of the Manito of Wampum, 

Of the mightiest of Magicians. 

Then once more Cheemaun he patted, 
To his birch canoe said, " Onward! " 
And it stirred in all its fibers, 140 

And with one great bound of triumph 
Leaped across the water-lilies, 
Leaped through tangled flags and rushes, 
And upon the beach beyond them 
Dry-shod landed Hiawatha. 145 

Straight he took his bow of ash-tree, 
On the sand one end he rested, 
With his knee he pressed the middle, 
Stretched the faithful bow-string tighter, 
Took an arrow, jasper-headed, 150 

Shot it at the Shining Wigwam, 
Sent it singing as a herald, 
As a bearer of his message, 
Of his challenge loud and lofty: 
" Come forth from your lodge, Pearl-Feather! 155 
Hiawatha waits your coming! " 

Straightway from the Shining Wigwam 
Came the mighty Megissogwon, 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHER 101 

Tall of stature, broad of shoulder, 

Dark and terrible in aspect, 160 

Clad from head to foot in wampum, 

Armed with all his warlike weapons, 

Painted like the sky of morning, 

Streaked with crimson, blue, and yellow, 

Crested with great eagle-feathers 165 

Streaming upward, streaming outward. 

u Well I know you, Hiawatha! " 
Cried he in a voice of thunder, 
In a tone of loud derision. 

"Hasten back, Shaugodaya! 170 

Hasten back among the women, 
Back to old Xokomis, Faint-heart! 
I will slay you as you stand there, 
As of old I slew her father! " 

But my Hiawatha answered, 175 

Xothing daunted, fearing nothing: 
" Big words do not smite like war-clubs, 
Boastful breath is not a bow-string, 
Taunts are not so sharp as arrows, 
Deeds are better things than words are, 180 

Actions mightier than boastings! " 

Then began the greatest battle 
That the sun had ever looked on, 
That the war-birds ever witnessed. 
All a Summer's day it lasted, 185 

From the sunrise to the sunset; 
For the shafts of Hiawatha 
Harmless hit the shirt of wampum, 



102 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Harmless fell the blows he dealt it 

With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 190 

Harmless fell the heavy war-club; 

It could dash the rocks asunder, 

But it could not break the meshes 

Of that magic shirt of wampum. 

Till at sunset Hiawatha, 195 

Leaning on his bow of ash-tree, 
Wounded, weary, and desponding, 
With his mighty war-club broken, 
With his mittens torn and tattered, 
And three useless arrows only, 200 

Paused to rest beneath a pine-tree, 
From whose branches trailed the mosses, 
And whose trunk was coated over 
With the Dead-man's Moccasin-leather, 
With the fungus white and yellow. 205 

Suddenly from the boughs above him 
Sang the Mama, the woodpecker: 
" Aim your arrows, Hiawatha, 
At the head of Megissogwon, 
Strike the tuft of hair upon it, 210 

At their roots the long black tresses; 
There alone can he be wounded! " 

Winged with feathers, tipped with jasper, 
Swift flew Hiawatha's arrow, 
Just as Megissogwon, stooping, 215 

Eaised a heavy stone to throw it. » 

204. Dead-man's moccasin leather. A fungus. 
207. Mama— Ma'ma. The woodpecker. 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHER 103 

Full upon the crown it struck him, 

At the roots of his long tresses, 

And he reeled and staggered forward, 

Plunging like a wounded bison, 220 

Yes, like Pezhekee, the bison, 

When the snow is on the prairie. 

Swifter flew the second arrow, 
In the pathway of the other, 
Piercing deeper than the other, 225 

Wounding sorer than the other; 
And the knees of Megissogwon 
Shook like windy reeds beneath him, 
Bent and trembled like the rushes. 

But the third and latest arrow 230 

Swiftest flew, and wounded sorest, 
And the mighty Megissogwon 
Saw the fiery eyes of Pauguk, 
Saw the eyes of Death glare at him, 
Heard his voice call in the darkness; 235 

At the feet of Hiawatha 
Lifeless lay the great Pearl-Feather, 
Lay the mightiest of Magicians. 

Then the grateful Hiawatha 
Called the Mama, the woodpecker, 240 

From his perch among the branches 
Of the melancholy pine-tree, 
And, in honor of his service, 

221. Pezhekee— P6z-hS-kee'. The bison. 

243-248. M The tuft feathers of the red-headed woodpecker are used 
to ornament the stems of the Indian pipes, and are symbolical of 
valor. ' 'Schoolcraft. 



104 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Stained with blood the tuft of feathers 

On the little head of Mama; 245 

Even to this day he wears it, 

Wears the tuft of crimson feathers, 

As a symbol of his service. 

Then he stripped the shirt of wampum 
From the back of Megissogwon, 250 

As a trophy of the battle, 
As a signal of his conquest. 
On the shore he left the body, 
Half on land and half in water, 
In the sand his feet were buried, 255 

And his face was in the water. 
And above him, wheeled and clamored 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle, 
Sailing round in narrow circles, 
Hovering nearer, nearer, nearer. 260 

From the wigwam Hiawatha 
Bore the wealth of Megissogwon, 
All his wealth of skins and wampum, 
Furs of bison and of beaver, 

Furs of sable and of ermine, • 265 

Wampum belts and strings and pouches, 
Quivers wrought with beads of wampum, 
Filled with arrows, silver-headed. 

Homeward then he sailed exulting, 
Homeward through the black pitch- water, 270 
Homeward through the weltering serpents, 
With the trophies of the battle, 
With a shout and song of triumph. 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHER 105 

On the shore stood old Nokomis, 
On the shore stood Chibiabos, 275 

And the very strong man, Kwasind, 
Waiting for the hero's coming, 
Listening to his song of triumph. 
And the people of the village 
Welcomed him with songs and dances, 280 

Made a joyous feast, and shouted: 
" Honor be to Hiawatha ! 
He has slain the great Pearl-Feather, 
Slain the mightiest of Magicians, 
Him, who sent the fiery fever, 285 

Sent the white fog from the fen-lands, 
Sent disease and death among us! " 

Ever dear to Hiawatha 
Was the memory of Mama! 

And in token of his friendship, 290 

As a mark of his remembrance, 
He adorned and decked his pipe-stem 
With the crimson tuft of feathers, 
With the blood-red crest of Mama. 
But the wealth of Megissogwcn, 295 

All the trophies of the battle, 
He divided with his people, 
Shared it equally among them. 



106 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 



hiawatha's wooing 

" As unto the bow the cord is, 
So unto the man is woman, 
Though she bends him, she obeys him, 
Though she draws him, yet she follows, 
Useless each without the other! " 5 

Thus the youthful Hiawatha 
Said within himself and pondered, 
Much perplexed by various feelings, 
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing, 
Dreaming still of Minnehaha, 10 

Of the lovely Laughing Water, 
In the land of the Dacotahs. 

" Wed a maiden of your people," 
Warning said the old Nokomis; 
" Go not eastward, go not westward, 15 

For a stranger, whom we know not! 
Like a fire upon the hearth-stone 
Is a neighbor's homely daughter, 
Like the starlight or the moonlight 
Is the handsomest of strangers! " 20 

Thus dissuading spake Nokomis, 
And my Hiawatha answered 
Only this: "Dear old Nokomis, 
Very pleasant is the firelight, 
But I like the starlight better, 25 

Better do I like the moonlight! " 



Hiawatha's wooing 107 

Gravely then said old Nokomis: 
" Bring not here an idle maiden, 
Bring not here a useless woman, 
Hands unskillful, feet unwilling; 30 

Bring a wife with nimble fingers, 
Heart and hand that move together, 
Feet that run on willing errands! " 

Smiling answered Hiawatha: 
" In the land of the Dacotahs 35 

Lives the Arrow-maker's daughter, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Handsomest of all the women. 
I will bring her to your wigwam, 
She shall run upon your errands, 40 

Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight, 
Be the sunlight of my people! " 

Still dissuading said Xokomis: 
" Bring not to my lodge a stranger 
From the land of the Dacotahs! 45 

Very fierce are the Dacotahs, 
Often is there war between us, 
There are feuds yet unforgotten, 
Wounds that ache and still may open! " 

Laughing answered Hiawatha: 50 

" For that reason, if no other, 
Would I wed the fair Dacotah, 
That our tribes might be united, 
That old feuds might be forgotten, 
And old wounds be healed forever! " 55 

Thus departed Hiawatha 



108 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

To the land of the Dacotahs, 

To the land of handsome women; 

Striding over moor and meadow, 

Through interminable forests, 60 

Through uninterrupted silence. 

With his moccasins of magic, 
At each stride a mile he measured; 
Yet the way seemed long before him, 
And his heart outran his footsteps; 65 

And he journeyed without resting, 
Till he heard the cataract's laughter, 
Heard the Falls of Minnehaha 
Calling to him through the silence. 
" Pleasant is the sound! " he murmured, 70 

" Pleasant is the voice that calls me! " 

On the outskirts of the forest, 
'Twixt the shadow and the sunshine, 
Herds of fallow deer were feeding, 
But they saw not Hiawatha; 75 

To his bow he whispered, " Fail not! " 
To his arrow whispered, " Swerve not! " 
Sent it singing on its errand, 
To the red heart of the roebuck; 
Threw the deer across his shoulder, 80 

And sped forward without pausing. 

At the doorway of his wigwam 
Sat the ancient Arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Making arrow-heads of jasper, 85 

Arrow-heads of chalcedony. 



hiawatha's wooing 109 

At his side, in all her beauty, 

Sat the lovely Minnehaha, 

Sat his daughter, Laughing Water, 

Plaiting mats of flags and rushes; 90 

Of the past the old man's thoughts were, 

And the maiden's of the future. 

He was thinking, as he sat there, 
Of the days when with such arrows 
He had struck the deer and bison, 95 

On the Muskoday, the meadow; 
Shot the wild goose, flying southward, 
On the wing, the clamorous Wawa; 
Thinking of the great war-parties, 
How they came to buy his arrows, 100 

Could not fight without his arrows. 
Ah, no more such noble warriors 
Could be found on earth as they were! 
Now the men were all like women, 
Only used their tongues for weapons! 105 

She was thinking of a hunter, 
From another tribe and country, 
Young and tall and very handsome, 
Who one morning in the Spring-time, 
Came to buy her father's arrows, 110 

Sat and rested in the wigwam, 
lingered long about the doorway, 
Looking back as he departed. 
She had heard her father praise him, 
Praise his courage and his wisdom; 115 

Would he come again for arrows 



110 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

To the Falls of Minnehaha? 
On the mat her hands lay idle, 
And her eyes were very dreamy. 

Through their thoughts they heard a footstep, 
Heard a rustling in the branches, 121 

And with glowing cheek and forehead, 
With the deer upon his shoulders, 
Suddenly from out the woodlands 
Hiawatha stood before them. 125 

Straight the ancient Arrow-maker 
Looked up gravely from his labor, 
Laid aside the unfinished arrow, 
Bade him enter at the doorway, 
Saying as he rose to meet him, 130 

" Hiawatha, you are welcome! " 

At the feet of Laughing Water 
Hiawatha laid his burden, 
Threw the red deer from his shoulders; 
And the maiden looked up at him, 135 

Looked up from her mat of rushes, 
Said with gentle look and accent, 
" You are welcome, Hiawatha! " 

Very spacious was the wigwam, 
Made of deer-skin, dressed and whitened, 140 

With the Gods of the Dacotahs 
Drawn and painted on its curtains, 
And so tall the doorway, hardly 
Hiawatha stooped to enter, 

Hardly touched his eagle-feathers 145 

As he entered at the doorway. 



hiawatha's wooing 111 

Then uprose the Laughing Water, 
From the ground fair Minnehaha, 
Laid aside her mat unfinished, 
Brought forth food and sat before them, 150 

Water brought them from the brooklet, 
Gave them food in earthen vessels, 
Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood, 
Listened while the guest was speaking, 
Listened while her father answered, 155 

But not once her lips she opened, 
Not a single word she uttered. 

Yes, as in a dream she listened 
To the words of Hiawatha, 

As he talked of old Nokomis, 160 

Who had nursed him in his childhood. 
As he told of his companions, 
Chibiabos, the musician, 
And the very strong man, Kwasind, 
And of happiness and plenty 165 

In the land of the Ojibways, 
In the pleasant land and peaceful. 

" After many years of warfare, 
Many years of strife and blodshed, 
There is peace between the Ojibways 170 

And the tribe of the Dacotahs." 
Thus continued Hiawatha, 
And then added, speaking slowly, 
" That this peace may last forever, 
And our hands be clasped more closely, 175 

And our hearts be more united, 



112 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Give me as my wife this maiden, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Loveliest of Dacotah women! " 

And the ancient Arrow-maker 180 

Paused a moment ere he answered, 
Smoked a little while in silence, 
Looked at Hiawatha proudly, 
Fondly looked at Laughing Water, 
And made answer very gravely: 185 

" Yes, if Minnehaha wishes; 
Let your heart speak, Minnehaha! " 

And the lovely Laughing Water 
Seemed more lovely, as she stood there, 
Neither willing nor reluctant, 190 

As she went to Hiawatha, 
Softly took the seat beside him, 
While she said, and blushed to say it, 
" I will follow you, my husband! " 

This was Hiawatha's wooing! 195 

Thus it was he won the daughter 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs! 

From the wigwam he departed, 
Leading with him Laughing Water; 200 

Hand in hand they went together, 
Through the woodland and the meadow, 
Left the old man standing lonely 
At the doorway of his wigwam, 
Heard the Falls of Minnehaha 205 

Calling to them from the distance, 



hiawatha's wooing 113 

Crying to them from afar off, 
" Fare thee well, Minnehaha! " 

And the ancient Arrow-maker 
Turned again unto his labor, 210 

Sat down by his sunny doorway, 
Murmuring to himself, and saying: 
" Thus it is our daughters leave us, 
Those we love, and those who love us! 
Just when they have learned to help us, 215 

When we are old and lean upon them, 
Comes a youth with flaunting feathers, 
With his flute of reeds, a stranger 
Wanders piping through the village, 
Beckons to the fairest maiden, 220 

And she follows where he leads her, 
Leaving all things for the stranger! " 

Pleasant was the journey homeward, 
Through interminable forests, 
Over meadow, over mountain, 225 

Over river, hill, and hollow. 
Short it seemed to Hiawatha, 
Though they journeyed very slowly, 
Though his pace he checked and slackened 
To the steps of Laughing Water. 230 

Over wide and rushing rivers 
In his arms he bore the maiden; 
Light he thought her as a feather, 
As the plume upon his head-gear; 
Cleared the tangled pathway for her, 235 

Bent aside the swaying branches, 



114 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Made at night a lodge of branches, 

And a bed with boughs of hemlock, 

And a fire before the doorway 

With the dry cones of the pine-tree. 240 

All the traveling winds went with them, 
O'er the meadow, through the forest: 
All the stars of night looked at them, 
Watched with sleepless eyes their slumber; 
From his ambush in the oak-tree 24.5 

Peeped the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Watched with eager eyes the lovers; 
And the rabbit, the Wabasso, 
Scampered from the path before them, 
Peering, peeping from his burrow, 250 

Sat erect upon his haunches, 
Watched with curious eyes the lovers. 

Pleasant was the journey homeward! 
All the birds sang loud and sweetly 
Songs of happiness and heartVease; 255 

Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
" Happy are you, Hiawatha, 
Having such a wife to love you! " 
Sang the robin, the Opechee, 

" Happy are you, Laughing Water, 260 

Having such a noble husband! " 

From the sky the sun benignant 
Looked upon them through the branches, 
Saying to them, " my children, 
Love is sunshine, hate is shadow, 265 



hiawatha's wedding-feast \lo 

Life is checkered shade and sunshine, 
Rule by love, Hiawatha! " 

From the sky the moon looked at them, 
Filled the lodge with mystic splendors, 
Whispered to them, " my children, 270 

Day is restless, night is quiet, 
Man imperious, woman feeble; 
Half is mine, although I follow; 
Rule by patience, Laughing Water! " 

Thus it was they journeyed homeward; 275 

Thus it was that Hiawatha 
To the lodge of old Xokomis 
Brought the moonlight, starlight, firelight, 
Brought the sunshine of his people, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 280 

Handsomest of all the women 
In the land of the Dacotahs, 
In the land of handsome women. 

XI 

hiavtatha's weddjxg-feast 

You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
How the handsome Yenadizze 
Danced at Hiawatha's wedding; 
How the gentle Chibiabos, 
He the sweetest of musicians, 5 

1. Pau-Puk-Keewis— Pau-Puk-Kee'-wis. " This word appears to be 
derived from the same root as Paup-puk-ke-nay , a grasshopper, the 
inflection iss making it personal. The Indian idea is that of harum- 
scarum. He is regarded as a foil to Manabozbo, with whom he is 
frequently brought in contact in aboriginal story craft."— Schoolcraft. 



116 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Sang his songs of love and longing; 

How Iagoo, the great boaster, 

He the marvelous story-teller, 

Told his tales of strange adventure, 

That the feast might be more joyous, 10 

That the time might pass more gayly, 

And the guests be more contented. 

Sumptuous was the feast Nokomis 
Made at Hiawatha's wedding; 
All the bowls were made of bass-wood, 15 

White and polished very smoothly, 
All the spoons of horn of bison, 
Black and polished very smoothly. 

She had sent through all the village 
Messengers with wands of willow, 20 

As a sign of invitation, 
As a token of the feasting; 
And the wedding guests assembled, 
Clad in all their richest raiment, 
Eobes of fur and belts of wampum, 25 

Splendid with their paint and plumage, 
Beautiful with beads and tassels. 

First they ate the sturgeon, Nahma, 
And the pike, the Maskenozha, 
Caught and cooked by old Nokomis; 30 

Then on pemican they feasted, 

31. Pemican. A food common among the North American Indians, 
made of lean venison cut into strips, dried, pounded into paste with fat 
and a few berries, and pressed into cakes. Now a somewhat similar 
food is made from beef and dried fruits, for use on long voyages and 
explorations, as it keeps well and contains a great amount of nourish- 
ment in small space. 



hiawatha's wedding-feast 117 

Pemican and buffalo marrow, 

Haunch of deer and hump of bison, 

Yellow cakes of the Mondamin, 

And the wild rice of the river. 35 

But the gracious Hiawatha, 
And the lovely Laughing Water, 
And the careful old Xokomis, 
Tasted not the food before them, 
Only waited on the others, 40 

Only served their guests in silence. 

And when all the guests had finished, 
Old Xokomis, brisk and busy, 
From an ample pouch of otter, 
Filled the red stone pipes for smoking 45 

With tobacco from the South-land, 
Mixed with bark of the red willow, 
And with herbs and leaves of fragrance. 

Then she said, " Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Dance for us your merry dances, 50 



32. Buffalo marrow. The Indians break the buffalo-bones and col- 
lect the marrow-fat, which they boil and put into buffalo-bladders. 
When cool it looks and tastes very much like butter. "At a feast, 
chunks of this marrow-fat are cut off and placed in a tray or bowl with 
the pemican and eaten together forming ... a very good substi- 
tute . . . for bread and butter."— Catlin. 

36-41. It was a part of Indian etiquette for the givers of a feast not to 
partake of the food. They occupied themselves in serving their 
guests. 

45-48. "The Indian's tobacco for smoking was usually mixed in the 
proportions of one part of tobacco to four parts of red willow bark, the 
leaves of a vine called laube, or the leaves of sumach. The inner bark 
of the red willow is the portion used and is prepared by scraping it off 
in long shavings (first carefully removing the outer bark), drying and 
breaking or cutting it up into small particles."— Clark. 



118 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Dance the Beggar's Dance to please us, 
That the feast may be more joyous, 
That the time may pass more gayly, 
And our guests be more contented! " 

Then the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis, 55 

He the idle Yenadizze, 
He the merry mischief-maker, 
Whom the people called the Storm-Fool, 
Eose among the guests assembled. 

Skilled was he in sports and pastimes, 60 

In the merry dance of snow-shoes, 
In the play of quoits and ball-play; 
Skilled was he in games of hazard, 
In all games of skill and hazard, 
Pugasaing, the Bowl and Counters, 65 

Kuntassoo, the Game of Plum-stones. 

Though the warriors called him Faint-Heart, 
Called him coward, Shaugodaya, 
Idler, gambler, Yenadizze, 

Little heeded he their jesting, 70 

Little cared he for their insults, 

51. Beggar's Dance.— This is one of the most fanciful and pictu- 
resque of the Indian dances. 

65. Pugasaing— Pu-ga-saing'. Game of the Bowl. 

66. Kuntassoo— Kun-tas-soo'. Game of Plum-stones. "Feasts, 
gambling, smoking and dancing filled the vacant hours [of winter]. The 
Indians were desperate gamblers, staking their all, ornaments, clothing, 
canoes, pipes, weapons, and wives. One of their principal games was 
played with plum-stones, or wooden lozenges black on one side and 
white on the other. These were tossed up in a wooden bowl by striking 
it sharply upon the ground, and the players betted on the black or white. 
This game is still a favorite among the Iroquois, some of whom hold 
to the belief that they will play it after death in the realms of bliss.'" — 
J^a/'A^/na^ : Jesuits in North America. 



119 

For the women and the maidens 
Loved the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

He was dressed in shirt of doe-skin, 
White and soft, and fringed with ermine, 75 

All inwrought with beads of wampum; 
He was dressed in deer-skin leggins, 
Fringed with hedgehog quills and ermine, 
And in moccasins of buck-skin, 
Thick with quills and beads embroidered. 80 

On his head were plumes of swan's down, 
On his heels were tails of foxes, 
In one hand a fan of feathers, 
And a pipe was in the other. 

Barred with streaks of red and yellow, 85 

Streaks of blue and bright vermilion, 
Shone the face of Pau-Puk-Keewis. 
From his forehead fell the tresses, 
Smooth, and parted like a woman's, 
Shining bright with oil, and plaited^ 90 

Hung with braids of scented grasses, 
As among the guests assembled, 
To the sound of flutes and singing, 
To the sound of drums and voices, 
Eose the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis, 95 

And began his mystic dances. 
• First he danced a solemn measure, 
Very slow in step and gesture, 
In and out among the pine-trees, 
Through the shadows and the sunshine, 100 

Treading softly like a panther. 



120 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Then more swiftly and still swifter, 

Whirling, spinning round in circles, 

Leaping o'er the guests assembled, 

Eddying round and round the wigwam, 105 

Till the leaves went whirling with him, 

Till the dust and wind together 

Swept in eddies round about him. 

Then along the sandy margin 
Of the lake, the Big-Sea- Water, 110 

On he sped with frenzied gestures, 
Stamped upon the sand, and tossed it 
Wildly in the air around him; 
Till the wind became a whirlwind, 
Till the sand was blown and sifted 115 

Like great snowdrifts o'er the landscape, 
Heaping all the shores with Sand Dunes, 
Sand Hills of the Nagow Wudjoo! 

Thus the merry Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Danced his Beggar's Dance to please them, 120 
And, returning, sat down laughing 
There among the guests assembled, 
Sat and fanned himself serenely 
With his fan of turkey-feathers. 

Then they said to Chibiabos, 125 

To the friend of Hiawatha, 
To the sweetest of all singers, 
To the best of all musicians, 
" Sing to us, Chibiabos! 

118. Nagow Wudjoo— Na-gOw Wfidj'O. The Grand Sable on the 
shore of Lake Superior. 




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Hiawatha's wedding-feast 121 

Songs of love and songs of longing, 130 

That the feast may be more joyous, 
That the time may pass more gayly, 
And our guests be more contented! " 

And the gentle Chibiabos 
Sang in accents sweet and tender, 135 

Sang in tones of deep emotion, 
Songs of love and songs of longing; 
Looking still at Hiawatha, 
Looking at fair Laughing Water, 
Sang he softly, sang in this wise: 140 

"Onaway! Awake, beloved! 
Thou the wild-flower of the forest! 
Thou the wild -bird of the prairie! 
Thou with eyes so soft and fawn-like! 



141-17G. Here is a literal translation of an Algonquin serenade, the 
original of this song: 

44 Awake ! flower of the forest— beautiful bird of the prairie. 
Awake ! awake ! thou with the eyes of the fawn. 
When you look at me I am happy ; like the flowers when they feel the 

dew. 
The breath of thy mouth is as sweet as the fragrance of the flowers in 

the morning ; sweet as their fragrance at evening in the moon of 

the fading leaf. 
Does not the blood of my veins spring toward thee, like the bubbling 

springs to the sun— in the moon of the brightest nights ? 
My heart sings to thee when thou art near; like the dancing branches 

to the wind, in the moon of strawberries. 
When thou art not pleased, my beloved, my heart is darkened like the 

shining river when shadows fall from the clouds above. 
Thy smile calls my troubled heart to be brightened, as the sun makes to 

look like gold the ripple which the cold wind has created. 
Myself! behold me; blood of my beating heart. 
The earth smiles— the waters smile— the heavens smile, but I— I lose 

the way of smiling when thou art not near. Awake! awake ! my 

beloved." 
141. Onaway— On-a-way'. Awake. 



122 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

" If thou only lookest at me, 145 

I am happy, I am happy, 
As the lilies of the prairie, 
When they feel the dew upon them! 

" Sweet thy breath is as the fragrance 
Of the wild-flowers in the morning, 150 

As their fragrance is at evening, 
In the Moon when leaves are falling. 

" Does not all the blood within me 
Leap to meet thee, leap to meet thee, 
As the springs to meet the sunshine, 155 

In the Moon when nights are brightest? 

" Onaway! my heart sings to thee, 
Sings with joy when thou art near me, 
As the sighing, singing branches 
In the pleasant Moon of Strawberries! 160 

" When thou art not pleased, beloved, 
Then my heart is sad and darkened, 
As the shining river darkens 
When the clouds drop shadows on it! 

" When thou smilest, my beloved, 165 

Then my troubled heart is brightened, 
As in sunshine gleam the ripples 
That the cold wind makes in rivers. 

" Smiles the earth, and smile the waters, 
Smile the cloudless skies above us, 170 

But I lose the way of smiling 
When thou art no longer near me! 

152. The Moon when leaves are falling. September. 
156. The Moon when nights are brightest. April, 
160. The Moon of strawberries. June, 



123 

" I myself, myself! behold me! 
Blood of my beating heart, behold me! 
awake! awake, beloved! 175 

Onaway! awake, beloved!" 

Thus the gentle Chibiabos 
Sang his song of love and longing; 
And lagoo, the great boaster, 
He the marvelous story-teller, 180 

He the friend of old Nokomis, 
Jealous of the sweet musician, 
Jealous of the applause they gave him, 
Saw in all the eyes around him, 
Saw in all their looks and gestures, 185 

That the wedding guests assembled 
Longed to hear his pleasant stories, 
His immeasurable falsehoods.. 

Very boastful was lagoo; 
Xever heard he an adventure 190 

But himself had met a greater; 
Xever any deed of daring 
But himself had done a bolder; 
Xever any marvelous story 
But himself could tell a stranger. 195 

Would you listen to his boasting, 
Would you only give him credence, 
Xo one ever shot an arrow 
Half so far and high as he had; 
E\ev caught so many fishes, 200 

Ever killed so many reindeer, 
Ever trapped so many beaver! 



124 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

None could run so fast as he could, 
None could dive so deep as he could, 
None could swim so far as he could, 205 

None had made so many journeys, 
None had seen so many wonders, 
As this wonderful Iagoo, 
As this marvelous story-teller! 

Thus his name became a by- word 210 

And a jest among the people; 
And whene'er a boastful hunter 
Praised his own address too highly, 
Or a warrior, home returning, 
Talked too much of his achievements, 215 

All his hearers cried, " Iagoo! 
Here's Iagoo come among us! " 

He it was who carved the cradle 
Of the little Hiawatha,, 

Carved its framework out of linden, 220 

Bound it strong with reindeer sinews; 
He it was who taught him later 
How to make his bows and arrows, 
How to make the bows of ash-tree, 
And the arrows of the oak-tree. 225 

So among the guests assembled 
At my Hiawatha's wedding 
Sat Iagoo, old and ugly, 
Sat the marvelous story-teller. 

And they said, " good Iagoo, 230 

Tell us now a tale of wonder, 
Tell us of some strange adventure, 



THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 125 

That the feast may be more joyous, 

That the time may pass more gayly, 

And our guests be more contented! " ' 235 

And Iagoo answered straightway, 
u You shall hear a tale of wonder, 
You shall hear the strange adventures 
Of Osseo, the Magician, 
From the Evening Star descended." 240 

XII 

THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 

Can it be the sun descending 
O'er the level plain of water? 
Or the Eed Swan floating, flying, 
AYounded by the magic arrow, 
Staining all the waves with crimson, 5 

AYith the crimson of its life-blood, 
Filling all the air with splendor, 
With the splendor of its plumage? 

Yes; it is the sun descending 

239. Osseo- Os-86'0. 

3. The Red Swan. This story is told by Schoolcraft in "Algic 
Researches." Three brothers one day agreed that each was to go out 
and kill the animal he habitually hunted. Ojibwa, the youngest, had 
killed a bear and was beginning to skin it when suddenly the air around 
him was suffused with wonderful red light. He heard strange noises, 
and following these saw a beautiful red swan in a lake. Having shot 
all of his arrows at it in vain, he went home and got three magic arrows 
left by his father. With the last of these he wounded the bird, which 
then flew away. He followed it, encountering many adventures on the 
way. The Red Swan he found to be the beautiful daughter of a 
magician, and he at last won her for his bride by recovering her 
father's cap of wampum from his enemies. 



126 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Sinking down into the water; 10 

All the sky is stained with purple, 

All the water flushed with crimson! 

No; it is the Red Swan floating, 

Diving down beneath the water; 

To the sky its wings are lifted, 15 

With its blood the waves are reddened! 

Over it the Star of Evening 
Melts and trembles through the purple, 
Hangs suspended in the twilight. 
No; it is a bead of wampum 20 

On the robes of the Great Spirit, 
As he passes through the twilight, 
Walks in silence through the heavens. 

This with joy beheld Iagoo 
And he said in haste: " Behold it! 25 

See the sacred Star of Evening! 
You shall hear a tale of wonder, 
Hear the story of Osseo, 
Son of the Evening Star, Osseo! 

" Once, in days no more remembered, 30 

Ages nearer the beginning, 
When the heavens were closer to us, 
And the Gods were more familiar, 
In the North-land lived a hunter, 
With ten young and comely daughters, 35 

Tall and lithe as wands of willow; 
Only Oweenee, the youngest, 
She the willful and the wayward, 

37. Oweenee— O-wee-nee'. 



THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 127 

She the silent, dreamy maiden, 

Was the fairest of the sisters. 40 

" All these women married warriors, 
Married brave and haughty husbands; 
Only Oweenee, the youngest, 
Laughed and flouted all her lovers, 
All her young and handsome suitors, 45 

And then married old Osseo, 
Old Osseo, poor and ugly, 
Broken with age and weak with coughing, 
Always coughing like a squirrel. 

" Ah, but beautiful within him 50 

Was the spirit of Osseo, 
From the Evening Star descended, 
Star of Evening, Star of Woman, 
Star of tenderness and passion! 
All its fire was in his bosom, 55 

All its beauty in his spirit, 
All its mystery in his being, 
All its splendor in his language! 

" And her lovers, the rejected, 
Handsome men with belts of wampum, 60 

Handsome men with paint and feathers, 
Pointed at her in derision, 
Followed her with jest and laughter. 
But she said: c I care not for you, 
Care not for your belts of wampum, 65 

Care not for your paint and feathers, 

not for your jest and laughter; 
I am happy with Osseo! ' 



128 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

" Once to some great feast invited, 
Through the damp and dusk of evening 70 

Walked together the ten sisters, 
Walked together with their husbands; 
Slowly followed old Osseo, 
With fair Oweenee beside him; 
All the others chatted gayly, 75 

These two only walked in silence. 

" At the western sky Osseo 
Gazed intent, as if imploring, 
Often stopped and gazed imploring 
At the trembling Star of Evening, 80 

At the tender Star of Woman; 
And they heard him murmur softly, 
' Ah, showain nemeshin, Nosa ! 
Pity, pity me, my father! ' 

" ' Listen! ' said the eldest sister, 85 

1 He is praying to his father! 
What a pity that the old man 
Does not stumble in the pathway, 
Does not break his neck by falling! ' 
And they laughed till all the forest 90 

Eang with their unseemly laughter. 

" On their pathway through the woodlands 
Lay an oak, by storms uprooted, 
Lay the great trunk of an oak-tree, 
Buried half in leaves and mosses, 95 

Moldering, crumbling, huge and hollow. 
And Osseo, when he saw it, 

83. Showain nemeshin, Nosa— ShO-wam' ng-mg'shin, NO'sa. Pity 
me, my father. 



THE SOX OF THE EVEXIXG STAR 129 

Gave a shout, a cry of anguish, 

Leaped into its yawning cavern, 

At one end went in an old man, 100 

Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly; 

From the other came a young man, 

Tall and straight and strong and handsome. 

" Thus Osseo was transfigured, 
Thus restored to youth and beauty; 105 

But, alas for good Osseo, 
And for Oweenee, the faithful! 
Strangely, too, was she transfigured. 
Changed into a weak old woman, 
With a staff she tottered onward, 110 

Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly! 
And the sisters and their husbands 
Laughed until the echoing forest 
Eang with their unseemly laughter. 

" But Osseo turned not from her, 115 

Walked with slower step beside her, 
Took her hand, as brown and withered 
As an oak-leaf is in Winter, 
failed her sweetheart, Xenemoosha, 
Soothed her with soft words of kindness, 120 
Till they reached the lodge of feasting, 
Till they sat down in the wigwam, 
Sacred to the Star of Evening, 
To the tender Star of Woman. 

" Wrapt in visions, lost in dreaming, 125 

At the banquet sat Osseo; 

119. Nenemoosha— Xe-ne-moo'eha. Sweetheart. 



130 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

All were merry, all were happy, 

All were joyous but Osseo. 

Neither food nor drink he tasted, 

Neither did he speak nor listen, 130 

But as one bewildered sat he, 

Looking dreamily and sadly, 

First at Oweenee, then upward 

At the gleaming sky above them. 

" Then a voice was heard, a whisper 135 

Coming from the starry distance, 
Coming from the empty vastness, 
Low, and musical, and tender; 
And the voice said: c Osseo! 
my son, my best beloved! 140 

Broken are the spells that bound you, 
All the charms of the magicians, 
All the magic powers of evil; 
Come to me; ascend, Osseo! 

" ' Taste the food that stands before you: 145 
It is blessed and enchanted, 
It has magic virtues in it, 
It will change you to a spirit. 
All your bowls and all your kettles 
Shall be wood and clay no longer; 150 

But the bowls be changed to wampum, 
And the kettles shall be silver; 
They shall shine like shells of scarlet, 
Like the fire shall gleam and glimmer. 

" ' And the women shall no longer 155 

Bear the dreary doom of labor, 



THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 131 

But be changed to birds, and glisten 

With the beauty of the starlight, 

Painted with the dusky splendors 

Of the skies and clouds of evening! } 160 

" What Osseo heard as whispers, 
What as words he comprehended, 
Was but music to the others, 
Music as of birds afar off, 

Of the whippoorwill afar off, 165 

Of the lonely Wawonaissa 
Singing in the darksome forest. 

" Then the lodge began to tremble, 
Straight began \o shake and tremble, 
And they felt it rising, rising, 170 

Slowly through the air ascending, 
From the darkness of the tree-tops 
Forth into the dewy starlight, 
Till it passed the topmost branches; 
And behold ! the wooden dishes 175 

All were changed to shells of scarlet! 
And behold! the earthen kettles 
All were changed to bowls of silver! 
And the roof-poles of the wigwam 
Were as glittering rods of silver, 180 

And the roof of bark upon them 
As the shining shards of beetles. 

" Then Osseo gazed around him, 
And he saw the nine fair sisters, 

182- Shards. Any hard thin coverings ; specifically, as here, the 
wing-covers. 



132 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

All the sisters and their husbands, 185 

Changed to birds of various plumage. 
Some were jays and some were magpies, 
Others thrushes, others blackbirds;- 
And they hopped, and sang, and twittered, 
Perked and fluttered all their feathers, 190 

Strutted in their shining plumage, 
And their tails like fans unfolded. 

" Only Oweenee, the youngest, 
Was not changed, but sat in silence, 
Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly, 195 

Looking sadly at the others; 
Till Osseo, gazing upward, 
Gave another cry of anguish, 
Such a cry as he had uttered 
By the oak-tree in the forest. 200 

" Then returned her youth and beauty, 
And her soiled and tattered garments 
Were transformed to robes of ermine, 
And her staff became a feather, 
Yes, a shining silver feather! 205 

" And again the wigwam trembled, 
Swayed and rushed through airy currents, 
Through transparent cloud and vapor, 
And amid celestial splendors 
On the Evening Star alighted, 210 

As a snow-flake falls on snow-flake, 
As a leaf drops on a river, 
As the thistle-down on water. 

" Forth with cheerful words of welcome 



THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 133 

Came the father of Osseo, 215 

He with radiant locks of silver, 

He with eyes serene and tender. 

And he said: c My son, Osseo, 

Hang the cage of birds you bring there, 

Hang the cage with rods of silver, 220 

And the birds with glistening feathers, 

At the doorway of my wigwam/ 

" At the door he hung the bird-cage, 
And they entered in and gladly 
Listened to Osseo's father, 225 

Ruler of the Star of Evening, 
As he said: ' my Osseo! 
I have had compassion on you, 
Given you back your youth and beauty, 
Into birds of various plumage 230 

Changed your sisters and their husbands; 
Changed them thus because they mocked you 
In the figure of the old man, 
In that aspect sad and wrinkled, 
Could not see your heart of passion, 235 

Could not see your youth immortal; 
Only Oweenee, the faithful, 
Saw your naked heart and loved you. 

" ' In the lodge that glimmers yonder 
In the little star that twinkles 240 

Through the vapors, on the left hand, 
Lives the envious Evil Spirit, 
The Waheno, the magician, 

243. Wabeno— Wa-be'no. A juggler, a magician. 



134 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Who transformed you to an old man. 

Take heed lest his .beams fall on you, 245 

For the rays he darts around him 

Are the power of his enchantment, 

Are the arrows that he uses/ 

" Many years, in peace and quiet, 
On the peaceful Star of Evening 250 

Dwelt Osseo with his father; 
Many years, in song and flutter, 
At the doorway of the wigwam, 
Hung the cage with rods of silver, 
And fair Oweenee, the faithful, 255 

Bore a son unto Osseo, 
With the beauty of his mother, 
With the courage of his father. 

" And the boy grew up and prospered, 
And Osseo, to delight him, 260 

Made him little bows and arrows, 
Opened the great cage of silver, 
And let loose his aunts and uncles, 
All those birds with glossy feathers, 
For his little son to shoot at. 265 

" Bound and round they wheeled and darted, 
Filled the Evening Star with music, 
With their songs of joy and freedom; 
Filled the Evening Star with splendor, 
With the fluttering of their plumage; 270 

Till the boy, the little hunter, 
Bent his bow and shot an arrow, 
Shot a swift and fatal arrow, 



THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 135 

And a bird, with shining feathers, 

At his feet fell wounded sorely. 275 

" But, wondrous transformation! 
Twas no bird he saw r before him! 
Twas a beautiful young woman, 
With the arrow in her bosom! 

"When her blood fell on the planet, 280 
On the saered Star of Evening, 
Broken was the spell of magic, 
Powerless was the strange enchantment, 
And the youth, the fearless bowman, 
Suddenly felt himself descending, 285 

Held by unseen hands, but sinking 
Downward through the empty spaces, / 

Downward through the clouds and vapors, 
Till he rested on an island, 

On an island, green and grassy, 290 

Yonder in the Big-Sea-Water. 

" After him he saw descending 
All the birds with shining feathers, 
Fluttering, falling, wafted downward, 
Like the painted leaves of Autumn; 295 

And the lodge with poles of silver, 
With its roof like wings of beetles, 
Like the shining shards of beetles, 
By the winds of heaven uplifted, 
Slowly sank upon the island, 300 

Bringing back the good Osseo, 
Bringing Oweenee, the faithful. 

" Then the birds, again transfigured, 



136 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Eeassumed the shape of mortals, 

Took their shape, but not their stature; 305 

They remained as Little People, 

Like the pygmies, the Puk-Wudjies, 

And on pleasant nights of Summer, 

When the Evening Star was shining, 

Hand in hand they danced together 310 

On the island's craggy headlands, 

On the sand-beach low and level. 

" Still their glittering lodge is seen there, 
On the tranquil Summer evenings, 
And upon the shore the fisher 315 

Sometimes hears their happy voices, 
Sees them dancing in the starlight! " 

When the story was completed, 
When the wondrous tale was ended, 
Looking round upon his listeners, 320 

Solemnly Iagoo added: 
" There are great men, I have known such, 
Whom their people understand not, 
Whom they even make a jest of, 
Scoff and jeer at in derision, 325 

From the story of Osseo 
Let us learn the fate of jesters! " 

All the wedding guests delighted 
Listened to the marvelous story, 
Listened laughing and applauding, 330 

307. Puk-Wudjies.— Ptik-Wudg'ies. Pygmies. They were called 
Mish-in-e-mok-in-ok-ong, or Turtle spirits, and this island where they 
were said to live retains their name, Michilimackinac being the 
French orthography of the Indian name, 



THE SON OF THE EVENING STAR 137 

And they whispered to each other: 
"Does he mean himself, I wonder? 
And are we the aunts and uncles?" 

Then again sang Chibiabos, 
Sang a song of love and longing, 335 

In those accents sweet and tender, 
In those tones of pensive sadness, 
Sang a maiden's lamentation 
For her lover, her Algonquin. 

" When I think of my beloved, 340 

Ah me! think of my beloved, 
When my heart is thinking of him, 
my sweetheart, my Algonquin! 

"Ah me! when I parted from him, 
Round my neck he hung the wampum, 345 

As a pledge, the snow-white wampum, 
my sweetheart,, my Algonquin! 

" I will go with you, he whispered, 
Ah me! to your native country; 
Let me go with you, he whispered, 350 

my sweetheart, my Algonquin! 

" Far away, away, I answered, 
Very far away, I answered, 
Ah me! is my native country. 
my sweetheart, my Algonquin! 355 

" When I looked back to behold him, 
Where we parted, to behold him, 
After me he still was gazing, 
my sweetheart, my Algonquin! 

" By the tree he still was standing, 360 



138 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

By the fallen tree was standing, 
That had dropped into the water, 
my sweetheart, my Algonquin! 

" When I think of my beloved, 
Ah me! think of my beloved, 365 

When my heart is thinking of him, 
my sweetheart, my Algonquin! " 

Such was Hiawatha's wedding, 
Such the dance of Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Such the story of Iagoo, 370 

Such the songs of Chibiabos; 
Thus the wedding banquet ended, 
And the wedding guests departed, 
Leaving Hiawatha happy 
With the night and Minnehaha. 375 



XIII 

BLESSING THE CORN-FIELDS 

Sing, Song of Hiawatha, 
Of the happy days that followed, 
In the land of the Ojibways, 
In the pleasant land and peaceful! 
Sing the mysteries of Mondamin, 5 

Sing the Blessing of the Corn-fields! 

Buried was the bloody hatchet, 
Buried was the dreadful war-club, 
Buried were all warlike weapons, 
And the war-cry was forgotten. 10 



BLESSING THE CORN-FIELDS 139 

There was peace among the nations; 

Unmolested roved the hunters. 

Built the birch canoe for sailing, 

Taught the fish in lake and river, 

Shot the deer and trapped the beaver; 15 

Unmolested worked the women, 

Made their sugar from the maple, 

Gathered wild rice in the meadows, 

Dressed the skins of deer and beaver. 

All around the happy village 20 

Stood the maize-fields, green and shining, 
Waved the green plumes of Mondamin, 
Waved his soft and sunny tresses, 
Filling all the land with plenty. 
"Twas the women who in Spring-time 25 

Planted the broad fields and fruitful, 
Buried in the earth Mondamin; 
'Twas the women who in Autumn 
Stripped the yellow husks of harvest, 
Stripped the garments from Mondamin, 30 

Even as Hiawatha taught them. 

©nee, when all the maize was planted, 
Hiawatha, wise and thoughtful, 
Spake and said to Minnehaha, 
To his wife, the Laughing Water: 35 

"You shall bless to-night the corn-fields, 

16-19. Indian women perform all domestic duties and drudgery of 
the tribes, hunting and fighting being esteemed a man's only proper 
occupation. The women get wood and water, cook, dress skins, dry 
meat and wild fruit, and raise maize. Among some tribes they make 
maple sugar, using vessels of birch bark to hold the sap. 

36-65. Indians of many tribes practiced the ceremony described here, 



140 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Draw a magic circle round them, 

To protect them from destruction, 

Blast of mildew, blight of insect, 

Wagemin, the thief of corn-fields, 40 

Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear! 

" In the night, when all is silence, 
In the night, when all is darkness, 
When the Spirit of Sleep, Nepahwin, 
Shuts the doors of all the wigwams, 45 

So that not an ear can hear you, 
So that not an eye can see you, 
Eise up from your bed in silence, 
Lay aside your garments wholly, 
Walk around the fields you planted, 50 

Bound the borders of the corn-fields, 
Covered by your tresses only, 
Robed with darkness as a garment. 

" Thus the fields shall be more fruitful, 
And the passing of your footsteps 55 

Draw a magic circle round them, 
So that neither blight nor mildew, 
Neither burrowing worm nor insect, 
Shall pass o'er the magic circle; 
Not the dragon-fly, Kwo-ne-she, 60 



believing that it would keep their fields free from blight and incursion 
of insects and make them fruitful. 

40. "Wagemin — Wa'ge-min. A thief of cornfields. 

41. Paimosaid — Pai-mO-said'. A thief of cornfields. 
44. Nepah'win — Ne-pah'win. Sleep. 

60. Kwo-ne-she— Kw5-ne-she ; or Dush-kwo-ne-she— Dush-kwO- 
ne-she. The dragon-fly. 






BLESSING THE CORN-FIELDS 141 

Nor the spider. Subbekashe, 

Nor the grasshopper, Pah-puk-keena, 
Nor the mighty caterpillar, 
Way-muk-kwana, with the bear-skin, 

King of all the caterpillars!" 65 

On the tree-tops near the corn-fields 

Sat the hungry crows and ravens, 

Kahgahgee, the King of Karens, 

With his band of black marauders, 

And they laughed at Hiawatha, 70 

Till the tree-tops shook with laughter, 

With their melancholy laughter, 

At the words of Hiawatha. 

"Hear him! " said they; " hear the Wise Man ! 

Hear the plots of Hiawatha! " 75 

When the noiseless night descended 

Broad and dark o'er field and forest, 

When the mournful Wawonaissa, 

SoiTowing sang among the hemlocks, 

And the Spirit of Sleep, Xepahwin, 80 

Shut the doors of all the wigwams, 

From her bed rose Laughing Water, 

Laid aside her garments wholly, 

And with darkness clothed and guarded, 

Unashamed and unaffrighted, 85 

Walked securely round the corn-fields, 

Drew the sacred, magic circle 

Of her footprints round the corn-fields. 

61. Subbekashe— Sub-be ka-she.— The spider. 

62. Pah-puk-keena— Pah-puk-kee'na. The grasshopper. 
64. Way-muk-kwana.— Way-muk-kwa'na. The caterpillar. 



142 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

No one but the Midnight only 
Saw her beauty in the darkness, 90 

No one but the Wawonaissa 
Heard the panting of her bosom; 
Guskewau, the darkness, wrapped her 
Closely in his sacred mantle, 
So that none might see her beauty, 95 

So that none might boast, " I saw her! " 

On the morrow, as the day dawned, 
Kahgahgee, the King of Eavens, 
Gathered all his black marauders, 
Crows and blackbirds, jays and ravens, 100 

Clamorous on the dusky tree-tops, 
And descended, fast and fearless, 
On the fields of Hiawatha, 
On the grave of the Mondamin. 

"We will drag Mondamin," said they, 105 
" From the grave where he is buried, 
Spite of all the magic circles 
Laughing Water draws around it, 
Spite of all the sacred footprints 
Minnehaha stamps upon it! " 110 

-But the wary Hiawatha, 
Ever thoughtful, careful, watchful, 
Had overheard the scornful laughter 
When they mocked him from the tree-tops. 
"Kaw! " he said, "my friends the ravens! 115 
Kahgahgee, my King of Eavens! 

93. Gushkewau— Giish-kS-wau'. The darkness. 
115. Kaw— Kaw. -No. 



BLESSING THE CORN-FIELDS 143 

I will teach you all a lesson 

That shall not be soon forgotten! " 

• He had risen before the daybreak, 

He had spread o'er all the corn-fields 120 

Snares to catch the black marauders, 

And was lying now in ambush 

In the neighboring grove of pine-trees, ^-^_ 

Waiting for the crows and blackbirds, 

Waiting for the jays and ravens. 125 

Soon they came with caw and clamor, 
Bush of wings and cry of voices, 
To their work of devastation, 
Settling down upon the corn-fields, 
Delving deep with beak and talon, 130 

For the body of Mondamin. 
And with all their craft and cunning, 
All their skill in wiles of warfare, 
They perceived no danger near them, 
Till their claws became entangled, 135 

Till they found themselves imprisoned 
In the snares of Hiawatha. 

From his place of ambush came he, 
Striding terrible among them, 
And so awful was his aspect 140 

That the bravest quailed with terror. 
Without mercy he destroyed them 
Eight and left, by tens and twenties, 
And their wretched, lifeless bodies 
Hung aloft on poles for scarecrows 145 

Bound the consecrated corn-fields, 



144 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

As a signal of his vengeance, 
As a warning to marauders. 

Only Kahgahgee, the leader, 
Kahgahgee, the King of Kavens, 150 

He alone was spared among them 
As a hostage for his people. 
With his prisoner-string he bound him, 
Led him captive to his wigwam, 
Tied him fast with cords of elm-bark 155 

To the ridge-pole of his wigwam. 

"Kahgahgee, my raven! " said he, 
" You the leader of the robbers, 
You the plotter of the mischief, 
The contriver of this outrage, 160 

I will keep you, I will hold you, 
As a hostage for your people, 
As a pledge of good behavior! " 

And he left him, grim and sulky, 
Sitting in the morning sunshine 165 

On the summit of the wigwam, 
Croaking fiercely his displeasure, 
Flapping his great sable pinions, 
Vainly struggling for his freedom, 
Vainly calling for his people! 170 

Summer passed, and Shawondasee 
Breathed his sighs o'er all the landscape, 
From the South-land sent his ardors, 
Wafted kisses warm and tender; 
And the maize-field grew and ripened, 175 

Till it stood in all the splendor 



BLESSING THE CORN-FIELDS 145 

Of its garments green and yellow, 

Of its tassels and its plumage, 

And the maize-ears full and shining 

Gleamed from bursting sheaths of yerdure. 180 

Then Xokomis, the old woman, 
Spake, and said to Minnehaha: 
" "lis the Moon when leaves are falling; 
All the wild-rice has been gathered, 
And the maize is ripe and ready; 185 

Let us gather in the harvest, 
Let us wrestle with Mondamin, 
Strip him of his plumes and tassels, 
Of his garments green and yellow! " 

And the merry Laughing Water 190 

Went rejoicing from the wigwam, 
With Xokomis. old and wrinkled, 
And they called the women round them, 
Called the young men and the maidens, 
To the harvest of the corn-fields, 195 

To the husking of the maize-ear. 

On the border of the forest, 
L'nderneath the fragrant pine-trees, 
Sat the old men and the warriors 
Smoking in the pleasant shadow. 200 

In uninterrupted silence 
Looked they at the gamesome labor 
Of the young men and the women; 
Listened to their noisy talking, 
To their laughter and their singing, 205 

Heard them chattering like the magpies, 



146 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Heard them laughing like the blue- jays, 
Heard them singing like the robins. 

And whene'er some lucky maiden 
Found a red ear in the husking, 210 

Found a maize-ear red as blood is, 
" Nushka! " cried they all together, 
" Nushka! you shall have a sweetheart, 
You shall have a handsome husband! " 
"Ugh! " the old men all responded, 215 

From their seats beneath the pine-trees. 

And whene'er a youth or maiden 
Found a crooked ear in husking, 
Found a maize-ear in the husking 
Blighted, mildewed, or misshapen, 220 

Then they laughed and sang together, 
Crept and limped about the corn-fields, 
Mimicked in their gait and gestures 
Some old man, bent almost double, 
Singing singly or together: 225 

" Wagemin, the thief of corn-fields! 
Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear! " 

Till the corn-fields rang with laughter, 
Till from Hiawatha's wigwam 
Kahgahgee, the King of Eavens, 230 

Screamed and quivered in his anger, 
And from all the neighboring tree-tops 
Cawed and croaked the black marauders. 
" Ugh! " the old men all responded, 
From their seats beneath the pine-trees! 235 

212. Nushka— Nueh'ka. Look. 



PICTURE-WRITING 147 

XIV 

PICTURE-WRITING 

In those days said Hiawatha, 
"Lo! how all things fade and perish! 
From the memory of the old men 
Pass away the great traditions, 
The achievements of the warriors, 5 

The adventures of the hunters, 
All the wisdom of the Medas, 
All the craft of the Wabenos, 
All the marvelous dreams and visions 
Of the Jossakeeds, the Prophets! 10 

" Great men die and are forgotten, 
Wise men speak; their words of wisdom 
Perish in the ears that hear them, 
Do not reach the generations 
That, as yet unborn, are waiting 15 

In the great, mysterious darkness 
Of the speechless days that shall be! 

" On the grave-posts of our fathers 
Are no signs, no figures painted; 
"Who are in those graves we know not, 20 

Only know they are our fathers. 

7. Meda— " Mg'da worship is the ordinary religious ritual of the 
Algonquin. It consists chiefly in exhibitions of legerdemain and in 
conjuring and exercising demons. A Jossakeed (JoVsa-keed) is an in- 
spired prophet who derives his power directly from the higher spirits, 
and not as the medawin, by instruction and practice."— Brinton: 
Myths of the New World. 



148 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Of what kith they are and kindred, 

From what old, ancestral Totem, 

Be it Eagle, Bear, or Beaver, 

They descended, this we know not, 25 

Only know they are our fathers. 

" Face to face we speak together, 
But we cannot speak when absent, 
Cannot send our voices from us 
To the friends that dwell afar off; 30 

Cannot send a secret message, 
But the bearer learns our secret, 
May pervert it, may betray it, 
May reveal it unto others/' 

Thus said Hiawatha, walking 35 

In the solitary forest, 
Pondering, musing in the forest, 
On the welfare of his people. 

From his pouch he took his colors, 
Took his paints of different colors, 40 

23. Totem— To'tem. " Each Indian nation or tribe is subdivided into 
several clans. These clans are not locally separate, but are mingled 
throughout the nation. All the members of each clan are, or are 
assumed to be, intimately joined in consanguinity. Each clan has its 
name : as the clan of the Hawk, of the Wolf, or of the Tortoise, and 
each has for its emblem the figure of the beast, bird, reptile, plant, or 
other object from which its name is derived. This emblem, called 
totem, by the Algonquins, is often tattooed on the clansman's body or 
rudely painted over the entrance of his lodge."— Parkman : Jesuits in 
North America. 

39-45. "The Indians had no alphabet, nor any mode of represent- 
ing words to the eyes, yet they have certain hieroglyphics, by which 
they describe facts in so plain a manner that those who are conversant 
with their marks can understand them with the greatest ease - as 
easily, indeed, as one can understand a piece of writing."— Hecke- 
welder. Most of the signs are representative of things, but some are 



PICTURE-WRITING 149 

On the smooth bark of a birch-tree 

Painted many shapes and figures, 

Wonderful and mystic figures, 

And each figure had a meaning, 

Each some word or thought suggested. 45 

Gitche Manito the Mighty, 
He, the Master of Life, was painted 
As an egg, with points projecting, 
To the four winds of the heavens. 
Everywhere is the Great Spirit, 50 

AVas the meaning of this symbol. 

Mitche Manito the Mighty, 
He the dreadful Spirit of Evil, 
As a serpent was depicted, 

As Kenabeek, the great serpent. 55 

Very crafty, very cunning, 
Is the creeping Spirit of Evil, 
Was the meaning of this symbol. 

Life and Death he drew as circles, 
Life was white, but Death was darkened; GO 

Sun and moon and stars he painted, 
Man and beast, and fish and reptile, 
Forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers. 

For the earth he drew a straight line, 
For the sky a bow above it; G5 

White the space between for day-time, 

derivative, gome symbolical, and others entirely arbitrary. This 
picture-writing of the Indians marks the first advance beyond simple 
oral transmission of ideas ; from it we trace upward the progress of 
invention to our present form of written language. 
52. Mitche Manito -Mit'che M£n'I-to. The Spirit of Evil. 



150 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Filled with little stars for night-time; 

On the left a point for sunrise, 

On the right a point for sunset, 

On the top a point for noontide, 70 

And for rain and cloudy weather 

Waving lines descending from it. 

Footprints pointing towards a wigwam 
Were a sign of invitation, 

Were a sign of guests assembling; 75 

Bloody hands with palms uplifted 
Were a symbol of destruction, 
Were a hostile sign and symbol. 

All these things did Hiawatha 
Show unto his wondering people, 80 

And interpreted their meaning, 
And he said: "Behold, your grave-posts 
Have no mark, no sign, nor symbol. 
Go and paint them all with figures; 
Each one with its household symbol, 85 

With its own ancestral Totem; 
So that those who follow after 
May distinguish them and know them." 

And they painted on the grave-posts 
Of the graves yet unforgotten, 90 

Each his own ancestral Totem, 
Each the symbol of his household; 
Figures of the Bear and Eeindeer, 
Of the Turtle, Crane, and Beaver, 
Each inverted as a token 95 

That the owner was departed, 



PICTURE-WRITING 151 

That the chief who bore the symbol 
Lay beneath the dust and ashes. 

And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, 
The Wabenos, the Magicians, 100 

And the Medicine-men, the Medas, 
Painted upon bark and deer-skin 
Figures for the songs they chanted, 
For each song a separate symbol, 
Figures mystical and awful, 105 

Figures strange and brightly colored; 
And each figure had its meaning, 
Each some magic song suggested. 

The Great Spirit, the Creator, 
Flashing light through all the heaven; 110 

The Great Serpent, the Kenabeek, 
With his bloody crest erected, 
Creeping, looking into heaven; 
In the sky the sun, that listens, 
And the moon eclipsed and dying; 115 

Owl and eagle, crane and hen-hawk, 
And the cormorant, bird of magic; 
Headless men that walk the heavens, 
Bodies lying pierced with arrows, 
Bloody hands of death uplifted, 120 

Flags on graves, and great war-captains 
Grasping both the earth and heaven! 

Such as these the shapes they painted 
On the birch-bark and the deer-skin; 
Songs of war and songs of hunting, 125 

Songs of medicine and of magic, 



152 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

All were written in these figures, 
For each figure had its meaning, 
Each its separate song recorded. 

Nor forgotten was the Love-Song, 130 

The most subtle of all medicines, 
The most potent spell of magic, 
Dangerous more than war or hunting! 
Thus the Love-Song was recorded, 
Symbol and interpretation. 135 

First a human figure standing, 
Painted in the brightest scarlet; 
'Tis the lover, the musician, 
And the meaning is, " My painting 
Makes me powerful over others." 140 

Then the figure seated, singing, 
Playing on a drum of magic, 
And the interpretation, "Listen! 
'Tis my voice you hear, my singing! " 

Then the same red figure seated 145 

In the shelter of a wigwam, 
And the meaning of the symbol, 
" I will come and sit beside you 
In the mystery of my passion! " 

Then two figures, man and woman, 150 

Standing hand in hand together 
With their hands so clasped together, 
That they seemed in one united, 
And the words thus represented 
Are, " I see your heart within you, 155 

And your cheeks are red with blushes! " 



PICTURE-WRITING 153 

Next the maiden on an island, 
In the center of an island; 
And the song this shape suggested 
Was, " Though you were at a distance, 160 

Were upon some far-off island, 
Such the spell I cast upon you, 
Such the magic power of passion, 
I could straightway draw you to me! " 

Then the figure of the maiden 165 

Sleeping, and the lover near her, 
Whispering to her in her slumbers, 
Saying, " Though you were far from me 
In the land of Sleep and Silence, 
Still the voice of love would reach you! " 170 

And the last of all the figures 
Was a heart within a circle, 
Drawn within a magic circle; 
And the image had this meaning: 
" Naked lies your heart before me, 175 

To your naked heart I whisper! " 

Thus it was that Hiawatha, 
In his wisdom taught the people 
All the mysteries of painting, 
All the art of Picture-Writing, 180 

On the smooth bark of the birch-tree, 
On the white skin of the reindeer, 
On the grave-posts of the village. 



154 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

XV 

hiawatha's lamentation 

In those days the Evil Spirits, ■ 
All the Manitos of mischief, 
Fearing Hiawatha's wisdom, 
And his love for Chibiabos, 

Jealous of their faithful friendship, 5 

And their noble words and actions, 
Made at length a league against them, 
To molest them and destroy them. 

Hiawatha, wise and wary, 
Often said to Chibiabos, 10 

" my brother! do not leave me, 
Lest the Evil Spirits harm you! " 
Chibiabos, young and heedless, 
Laughing shook his coal-black tresses, 
Answered ever sweet and childlike, 15 

" Do not fear for me, brother! 
Harm and evil come not near me! " 

Once when Peboan, the Winter, 
Hoofed with ice the Big-Sea- Water, 
When the snow-flakes, whirling downward, 20 
Hissed among the withered oak-leaves, 
Changed the pine-trees into wigwams, 
Covered all the earth with silence, — 
Armed with arrows, shod with snow-shoes, 
Heeding not his brother's warning, 25 

Fearing not the Evil Spirits, 

13. Peboan— Pe'bO-Sn, Winter, 



Hiawatha's lamentation 155 

Forth to hunt the deer with antlers 
All alone went Chibiabos. 

Eight across the Big-Sea- Water 
Sprang with speed the deer before him. 30 

With the wind and snow he followed, 
O'er the treacherous ice he followed, 
Wild with all the fierce commotion 
And the rapture of the hunting. 

But beneath, the Evil Spirits 35 

Lay in ambush, waiting for him, 
Broke the treacherous ice beneath him, 
Dragged him downward to the bottom, 
Buried in the sand his body. 
Unktahee, the god of water, 40 

He the god of the Dacotahs, 
Drowned him in the deep abysses 
Of the lake of Gitche Gumee. 

From the headlands Hiawatha 
Sent forth such a wail of anguish, 45 

Such a fearful lamentation, 
That the bison paused to listen, 
And the wolves howled from the prairies, 
And the thunder in the distance 
Starting answered " Bairn- wawa! " 50 

Then his face with black he painted, 
With his robe his head he covered, 
In his wigwam sat lamenting, 
Seven long weeks he sat lamenting, 
Uttering still this moan of sorrow: 55 

41. Unktahee— Unk-ta-hee'. The god of water. 



156 ^ THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

" He is dead, the sweet musician! 
He the sweetest of all singers! 
He has gone from us forever, 
He has moved a little nearer 
To the Master of all music, * 60 

To the Master of all singing! 
my brother, Chibiabos! " 

And the melancholy fir-trees 
Waved their dark green fans above him, 
Waved their purple cones above him, 65 

Sighing with him to concole him, 
Mingling with his lamentation 
Their complaining, their lamenting. 

Came the Spring, and all the forest 
Looked in vain for Chibiabos; ?Q 

Sighed the rivulet, Sebowisha, 
Sighed the rushes in the meadow. 

From the tree-tops sang the bluebird, 
Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa, 
"Chibiabos! Chibiabos! 75 

He is dead, the sweet musician! " 

From the wigwam sang the robin, 
Sang the robin, the Opechee, 
"Chibiabos! Chibiabos! 
He is dead, the sweetest singer! " 80 

And at night through all the forest 
Went the whippoorwill complaining, 
Wailing went the Wawonaissa, 
"Chibiabos! Chibiabos! 



56-85. These lines were read at Longfellow's funeral. 



157 

He is dead, the sweet musician! 85 

He the sweetest of all singers! " 

Then the medicine-men, the Medas, 
The magicians, the Wabenos, 
And the Jossakeeds, the prophets, 
Came to visit Hiawatha: 90 

Built a Sacred Lodge beside him, 
To appease him, to console him, 
Walked in silent, grave procession, 
Bearing each a pouch of healing, 
Skin of beaver, lynx, or otter, 95 

Filled with magic roots and simples, 
Filled with very potent medicines. 

"When he heard their steps approaching, 
Hiawatha ceased lamenting, 

Called no more on Chibiabos; 100 

Naught he questioned, naught he answered, 
But his mournful head uncovered, 
From his face the mourning colors 

87. Medicine-men. The Indian healers united the powers of medi- 
cine with those of magic. 

91. Sacred Lodge. For their medicine ceremonies, the Indians 
erected special lodges with high peaked roofs. 

96. Simples. Medicinal plants. It was formerly supposed that each 
single herb was or provided a specific for some disease. " A great 
knowledge of simples for the cure of diseases is popularly ascribed 
to the Indian. Here, however, as elsewhere, his knowledge is in fact 
scanty. lie rarely reasons from cause to effect, or from effect to 
cause. Disease, in his belief, is the result of sorcery, the agency of 
spirits or supernatural influences, defined and indefinable. The 
Indian doctor was a conjuror. He beat, shook, and pinched his 
patient, howled, whooped, rattled a tortoise shell at his ear to expel the 
evil spirits. At a medical feast some strange or unusual art was com- 
monly enjoined as vital to the patient's cure. The assembly danced 
and howled for hours together." — Parkman. 



158 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Washed he slowly and in silence, 

Slowly and in silence followed 105 

Onward to the Sacred Wigwam. 

There a magic drink they gave him, 
Made of Nahma-w^usk, the spearmint, 
And Wabeno-wusk, the yarrow, 
Roots of power, and herbs of healing; 110 

Beat their drums, and shook their rattles; 
Chanted singly and in chorus, 
Mystic songs, like these, they chanted. 

"I myself, myself! behold me! 
"Tis the great Gray Eagle talking; 115 

Come, ye white crows, come and hear him! 
The loud-speaking thunder helps me; 
All the unseen spirits help me; 
I can hear their voices calling, 
All around the sky I hear them! 120 

I can blow you strong, my brother, 
I can heal you, Hiawatha! " 

" Hi-au-ha! " replied the chorus, 
" Way-ha-way! " the mystic chorus. 

" Friends of mine are all the serpents! 125 

Hear me shake my skin of hen-hawk! 
Mahng, the white loon, I can kill him; 
I can shoot your heart and kill it! 
I can blow you strong, my brother, 
I can heal you, Hiawatha! " 130 



108. Nahma-wusk— Nah-ma-wusk/. Spearmint. 

109. Wabeno-wusk— Wa-be'nO-wusk. Yarrow. 
123. Hi-au-ha— Hi-au-ha. 



Hiawatha's lamentation 159 

" Hi-au-ha! " replied the chorus, 
u Way-ha-way ! " the mystic chorus. 

"I myself, myself! the prophet! 
When I speak the wigwam trembles, 
Shakes the Sacred Lodge with terror, 135 

Hands unseen begin to shake it! 
When I walk, the sky I tread on 
Bends and makes a noise beneath me! 
I can blow you strong, my brother! 
Eise and speak, Hiawatha! " 140 

" Hi-au-ha!" replied the chorus, 
" Way-ha-way! " the mystic chorus. 

Then they shook their medicine-pouches 
O'er the head of Hiawatha, 

Danced their medicine-dance around him; 145 
And upstarting wild and haggard, 
Like a man from dreams awakened, 
He was healed of all his madness. 
As the clouds are swept from heaven, 
Straightway from his brain departed 150 

All his moody melancholy; 
As the ice is swept from rivers, 
Straightway from his heart departed 
All his sorrow and affliction. 

Then they summoned Chibiabos 155 

From his grave beneath the waters, 
From the sands of Gitche Gumee 
Summoned Hiawatha's brother. 
And so mighty was the magic 
Of that cry and invocation, 160 



160 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

That he heard it as he lay there 

Underneath the Big-Sea-Water; 

From the sand he rose and listened, 

Heard the music and the singing, 

Came, obedient to the summons, 165 

To the doorway of the wigwam, 

But to enter they forbade him. 

Through a chink a coal they gave him, 
Through the door a burning fire-brand; 
Euler in the Land of Spirits, 170 

Ruler o'er the dead, they made him, 
Telling him a fire to kindle 
For all those that died thereafter, 
Camp-fires for their night encampments 
On their solitary journey 175 

To the kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter. 

From the village of his childhood, 
From the homes of those who knew him, 
Passing silent through the forest, 180 

Like a smoke-wreath wafted sideways, 
Slowly vanished Chibiabos! 
Where he passed, the branches moved not, 
Where he trod, the grasses bent not, 
And the fallen leaves of last year 185 

Made no sound beneath his footsteps. 

Four whole days he journeyed -onward 
Down the pathway of the dead men; 
On the dead-man's strawberry feasted, 
Crossed the melancholy river, 190 



hiawatha's lamentation 161 

On the swinging log he crossed it, 

Came unto the Lake of Silver, 

In the Stone Canoe was carried 

To the Islands of the Blessed, 

To the land of ghosts and shadows. 195 

On that journey, moving slowly, 
Many weary spirits saw he, 
Panting under heavy burdens, 
Laden with war-clubs, bows and arrows, 
Eobes of fur, and pots and kettles, 200 

And with food that friends had given 
For that solitary journey. 

"Ay! why do the living," said they, 
" Lay such heavy burdens on us! 
Better were it to go naked, 205 

Better were it to go fasting, 
Than to bear such heavy burdens 
On our long and weary journey! " 

Forth then issued Hiawatha, 
Wandered eastward, wandered westward, 210 

Teaching men the use of simples 
And the antidotes for poisons, 
And the cure of all diseases. 
Thus was first made known to mortals 
All the mystery of Medamin, 215 

All the sacred art of healing. 



162 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

XVI 

PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 

You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis 
He, the handsome Yenadizze, 
Whom the people called the Storm Fool, 
Vexed the village with disturbance; 
You shall hear of all his mischief, 5 

And his flight from Hiawatha, 
And his wondrous transmigrations, 
And the end of his adventures. 

On the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo, 10 

By the shining Big-Sea-Water 
Stood the lodge of Pau-Puk-Keewis. 
It was he who in his frenzy- 
Whirled these drifting sands together, 
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo, 15 

When, among the guests assembled, 
He so merrily and madly 
Danced at Hiawatha's wedding, 
Danced the Beggar's Dance to please them. 

Now, in search of new adventures, 20 

From his lodge went Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Came with speed into the village, 
Found the young men all assembled 
In the lodge of old Iagoo, 

Listening to his monstrous stories, 25 

To his wonderful adventures. 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 163 

He was telling them the story 
Of Ojeeg, the Summer-Maker, 
How he made a hole in heaven, 
How he climbed up into heaven, 30 

And let out the summer-weather, 
The perpetual, pleasant Summer; 
How the Otter first essayed it; 
How the Beaver, Lynx, and Badger 
Tried in turn the great achievement, 35 

From the summit of the mountain 
Smote their fists against the heavens, 
Smote against the sky their foreheads, 
Cracked the sky, but could not break it; 
How the Wolverine, uprising, 40 

Made him ready for the encounter, 
Bent his knees down, like a squirrel, 
Drew his arms back, like a cricket. 

" Once he leaped," caid old Iagoo, 
" Once he leaped, and lo! above him 45 

Bent the sky, as ice in rivers 
When the waters rise beneath it; 
Twice he leaped, and lo! above him 
Cracked the sky, as ice in rivers 
When the freshet is at highest! 50 

Thrice he leaped, and lo! above him 
Broke the shattered sky asunder, 
And he disappeared within it, 

28. Ojeeg— O-jeeg'. The Summer-maker. M There is a group of stars 
in the northern hemisphere which the Ojibvvays call Ojeeg Annung i r 
the Fisher Stars. It is believed to be identical with the group of the 
¥\ow\"—Sc?ioo'.craft : AUjic Researches. 



164 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And Ojeeg, the Fisher Weasel, 

With a bound went in behind him! " 55 

"Hark you!" shouted Pau-Puk-Keewis 
As he entered at the doorway; 
" I am tired of all this talking, 
Tired of old Iagoo's stories, 

Tired of Hiawatha's wisdom. 60 

Here is something to amuse you, 
Better than this endless talking." 

Then from out his pouch of wolf-fckin 
Forth he drew with solemn manner, 
All the game of Bowl and Counters, G5 

Pugasaing, with thirteen pieces. 
White on one side were they painted, 
And vermilion on the other; 
Two Kenabeeks or great serpents, 
Two Ininewugor wedge-men, 70 

One great war-club, Pugamaugun, 
And one slender fish, the Keego, 
Four round pieces, Ozawabeeks, 
And three Sheshebwug or ducklings. 
All were made of bone and painted, 75 

All except the Ozawabeeks; 
These were brass, on one side burnished, 
And were black upon the other. 

In a wooden bowl he placed them, 

70. Ininewug— I-nin'e wiig. Men or pawns in the game of the Bowl. 

72. Keego— Kee'gO. A fish. 

73. Ozawabeek— O-za-wa'beek. A round piece of brass or copper 
used in the game of the Bowl. 

74. Sheshebwug— Shesh'eb-wiig. Pucks ; pieces in the game of the 
Bowl. 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 165 

Shook and jostled them together, 80 

Threw them on the ground before him, 

Thus exclaiming and explaining: 

" Red side up are all the pieces, 

And one great Kenabeek standing 

On the bright side of a brass piece, 85 

On a burnished Ozawabeek; 

Thirteen tens and eight are counted." 

Then again he shook the pieces, 
Shook and jostled them together, 
Threw them on the ground before him, 90 

Still exclaiming and explaining: 
" White are both the great Kenabeeks, 
White the Ininewug, the wedge-men, 
Eed are all the other pieces; 
Five tens and an eight are counted." 95 

Thus he taught the game of hazard, 
Thus displayed it and explained it, 
Running through its various chances, 
Various changes, various meanings: 
Twenty curious eyes stared at him, 100 

Full of eagerness stared at him. 

" Many games," said old Iagoo, 
u Many games of skill and hazard 
Have I seen in different nations, 
Have I played in different countries. 105 

He who plays with old Iagoo 
Must have very nimble fingers; 
Though you think yourself so skillful 
I can beat you, Pau-Puk-Keewis, 



166 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

I can even give you lessons 110 

In your game of Bowl and Counters! " 

So they sat and played together, 
All the old men and the young men, 
Played for dresses, weapons, wampum, 
Played till midnight, played till morning, 115 
Played until the Yenadizze, 
Till the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Of their treasures had despoiled them, 
Of the best of all their dresses, 
Shirts of deer-skin, robes of ermine, 120 

Belts of wampum, crests of feathers, 
Warlike weapons, pipes and pouches. 
Twenty eyes glared wildly at him, 
Like the eyes of wolves glared at him. 

Said the lucky Pau-Puk-Keewis: 125 

" In my wigwam I am lonely, 
In my wanderings and adventures 
I have need of a companion, 
Fain would have a Meshinauwa, 
An attendant and pipe-bearer. 130 

I will venture all these winnings, 
All these garments heaped about me, 
All this wampun, all these feathers, 
On a single throw will venture 
All against the young man yonder! " 135 

'Twas a youth of sixteen summers, 
'Twas a nephew of Iagoo; 
Face-in-a-Mist, the people called him. 

129. Meshinauwa.— Me-shi-nau'w&. A pipe-bearer. 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 167 

As the fire burns in a pipe-head 
Dusky red beneath the ashes, 140 

So beneath his shaggy eyebrows 
Glowed the eyes of old Iagoo. 
4k Ugh! " he answered very fiercely; 
"Ugh!" they answered all and each one. 

Seized the wooden bowl the old man, 145 

Closely in his bony fingers 
Clutched the fatal bowl, Onagon, 
Shook it fiercely and with fury, 
Made the pieces ring together 
As he threw them down before him. 150 

Bed were both the great Kenabeeks, 
Bed the Ininewug, the wedge-men, 
Eed the Sheshebwug, the ducklings, 
Black the four brass Ozawabeeks, 
AYhite alone the fish, the Keego; 155 

Only five the pieces counted! 

Then the smiling Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Shook the bowl and threw the pieces; 
Lightly in the air he tossed them, 
And they fell about him scattered; 160 

Dark and bright the Ozawabeeks, 
Eed and white the other pieces, 
And upright among the others 
One Ininewug was standing, 

Even as crafty Pau-Puk-Keewis 165 

Stood alone among the players, 
Saying, " Five tens! mine the game is! " 

147. Onagon.— O-na'gtfn. A bowl. 



168 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Twenty eyes glared at him fiercely, 
Like the eyes of wolves glared at him, 
As he turned and left the wigwam, 170 

Followed by his Meshinauwa, 
By the nephew of Iagoo, 
By the tall and graceful stripling, 
Bearing in his arms the winnings, 
Shirts of deer-skin, robes of ermine, 175 

Belts of wampum, pipes and weapons. 

" Carry them/' said Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Pointing with his fan of feathers-, 
" To my wigwam far to eastward, 
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo! " 180 

Hot and red with smoke and gambling 
Were the eyes of Pau-Puk-Keewis 
As he came forth to the freshness 
Of the pleasant Summer morning. 
All the birds were singing gayly, 185 

All the streamlets flowing swiftly, 
And the heart of Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Sang with pleasure as the birds sing, 
Beat with triumph like the streamlets, 
As he wandered through the village, 190 

In the early gray of morning, 
With his fan of turkey-feathers, 
With his plumes and tufts of swan's down, 
Till he reached the farthest wigwam, 
Beached the lodge of Hiawatha. 195 

Silent was it and deserted; 
No one met him at the doorway, 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 169 

No one came to bid him welcome; 

But the birds were singing round it, 

In and out and round the doorway, 200 

Hopping, singing, fluttering, feeding, 

And aloft upon the ridge-pole 

Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens, 

Sat with tier}' e) T es, and, screaming, 

Flapped his wings at Pau-Puk-Keewis. 205 

" All are gone! the lodge is empty! " 
Thus it was spake Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
In his heart resolving mischief; — 
" Gone is wary Hiawatha, 

Gone the silly Laughing Water, 210 

Gone Xokomis, the old woman, 
And the lodge is left unguarded! " 

By the neck he seized the raven, 
Whirled it round him like a rattle, 
Like a medicine-pouch he shook it, 215 

Strangled Kahgahgee, the raven, 
From the ridge-pole of the wigwam 
Left its lifeless body hanging, 
As an insult to its master, 
As a taunt to Hiawatha. 220 

With a stealthy step he entered, 
Round the lodge in wild disorder 
Threw the household things about him, 
Piled together in confusion 

Bowls of wood and earthen kettles, 225 

Robes of buffalo and beaver, 
Skins of otter, lynx, and ermine, 



170 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

As an insult to Nokomis, 
As a taunt to Minnehaha. 

Then departed Pau-Puk-Keewis, 230 

Whistling, singing through the forest, 
Whistling gayly to the squirrels, 
Who from hollow boughs above him 
Dropped their acorn-shells upon him, 
Singing gayly to the wood-birds, 235 

Who from out the leafy darkness 
Answered with a song as merry. 

Then he climbed the rocky headlands 
Looking o'er the Gitche Gumee, 
Perched himself upon their summit, 240 

Waiting full of mirth and mischief 
The return of Hiawatha. 

Stretched upon his back he lay there; 
Far below him plashed the waters, 
Plashed and washed the dreamy waters; 245 
Far above him swam the heavens, 
Swam the dizzy, dreamy heavens; 
Bound him hovered, fluttered, rustled, 
Hiawatha's mountain chickens, 
Flockwise swept and wheeled about him, 250 
Almost brushed him with their pinions. 

And he killed them as he lay there, 
Slaughtered them by tens and twenties, 
Threw their bodies down the headland, 
Threw them on the beach below him, 255 

Till at length Kayoshk, the sea-gull, 
Perched upon a crag above them, 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 171 

Shouted: "It is Pau-Puk-Keewis! 

He is slaying us by hundreds! 

Send a message to our brother, 260 

Tidings send to Hiawatha!" 



XVII 

THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 

Full of wrath was Hiawatha 
When he came into the village, 
Found the people in confusion, 
Heard of all the misdemeanors, 
All the malice and the mischief, 5 

Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

Hard his breath came through his nostrils, 
Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered 
Words of anger and resentment, 
Hot and humming, like a hornet. 10 

" I will slay this Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Slay this mischief-maker! " said he. 
" Not so long and wide the world is, 
Not so rude and rough the way is, 
That my wrath shall not attain him, 15 

That my vengeance shall not reach him! " 

Then in swift pursuit departed 
Hiawatha and the hunters 
On the trail of Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Through the forest, where he passed it, 20 

To the headlands where he rested; 



172 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

But they found not Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

Only in the trampled grasses, 

In the whortleberry-bushes, 

Found the couch where he had rested, 25 

Found the impress of his body. 

From the lowlands far beneath them, 
From the Muskoday, the meadow, 
Pau-Puk-Keewis, turning backward, 
Made a gesture of defiance, 30 

Made a gesture of derision; 
And aloud cried Hiawatha, 
From the summit of the mountain: 
" Not so long and wide the world is, 
Not so rude and rough the way is, 35 

But my wrath shall overtake you, 
And my vengeance shall attain you! " 

Over rock and over river, 
Thorough bush, and brake, and forest, 
Ean the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis; 40 

Like an antelope he bounded, 
Till he came unto a streamlet 
In the middle of the forest, 
To a streamlet still and tranquil, 
That had overflowed its margin, 45 

To a dam made by the beavers, 
To a pond of quiet water, 
Where knee-deep the trees were standing, 
Where the water-lilies floated, 
Where the rushes waved and whispered. 50 

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 173 

On the dam of trunks and branches, 

Through whose chinks the water spouted, 

O'er whose summit flowed the streamlet. 

From the bottom rose a beaver, 55 

Looked with two great eyes of wonder, 

Eyes that seemed to ask a question, 

At the stranger, Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet, 60 

Flowed the bright and silvery water, 
And he spake unto the beaver, 
"With a smile he spake in this wise: 

u my friend Ahmeek, the beaver, 
Cool and pleasant is the water, 65 

Let me dive into the water, 
Let me rest there in your lodges; 
Change me, too, into a beaver! " 

Cautiously replied the beaver, 
With reserve he thus made answer: 70 

" Let me first consult the others, 
Let me ask the other beavers." 
Down he sank into the water, 
Heavily sank he 3 as a stone sinks, 
Down among the leaves and branches, 75 

Brown and matted at the bottom. 

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet, 
Spouted through the chinks below him, 
Dashed upon the stones beneath him, 80 

Spread serene and calm before him, 



174 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And the sunshine and the shadows 

Fell in flecks and gleams upon him, 

Fell in little shining patches, 

Through the waving, rustling branches. 85 

From the bottom rose the beavers, 
Silently above the surface 
Eose one head and then another, 
Till the pond seemed full of beavers, 
Full of black and shining faces. 90 

To the beavers Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Spake entreating, said in this wise: 
" Very pleasant is your dwelling, 
my friends! and safe from danger; 
Can you not with all your cunning, 95 

All your wisdom and contrivance, 
Change me, too, into a beaver? " 

" Yes! " replied Ahmeek, the beaver, 
He the King of all the beavers, 
" Let yourself slide down among us, 100 

Down into the tranquil water." 

Down into the pond among them 
Silently sank Pau-Puk-Keewis; 
Black became his shirt of deer-skin, 
Black his moccasins and leggings, 105 

In a broad black tail behind him 
Spread his fox-tails and his fringes; 
He was changed into a beaver. 

" Make me large," said Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
" Make me large and make me larger, 110 

Larger than the other beavers." 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 175 



a 



Yes," the beaver chief responded, 
" When our lodge below you enter 
In our wigwam we will make you 
Ten times larger than the others." 115 

Thus into the clear brown water 
Silently sank Pau-Puk-Keewis; 
Found the bottom covered over 
With the trunks of trees and branches, 
Hoards of food against the winter, 120 

Piles and heaps against the famine, 
Found the lodge with arching doorway, 
Leading into spacious chambers. 

Here they made him large and larger, 
Made him largest of the beavers, 125 

Ten times larger than the others. 
" You shall be our ruler," said they; 
" Chief and king of all the beavers." 

But not long had Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Sat in state among the beavers, 130 

When there came a voice of warning 
From the watchman at his station 
In the water-flags and lilies, 
Saying, " Here is Hiawatha! 
Hiawatha with his hunters! " 135 

Then they heard a cry above them, 
Heard a shouting and a tramping, 
Heard a crashing and a rushing, 
And the water round and o'er them 
Sank and sucked away in eddies, 140 

And they knew their dam was broken. 



176 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

On the lodge's roof the hunters 
Leaped, and broke it all asunder; 
Streamed the sunshine through the crevice, 
Sprang the beavers through the doorway, 145 
Hid themselves in deeper water, 
In the channel of the streamlet; 
But the mighty Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Could not pass beneath the doorway; 
He was puffed with pride and feeding, 150 

He was swollen like a bladder. 

Through the roof looked Hiawatha, 
Cried aloud, " Pau-Puk-Keewis! 
Vain are all your craft and cunning, 
Vain your manifold disguises! 155 

Well I know you, Pau-Puk-Keewis! " 

With their clubs they beat and bruised him, 
Beat to death poor Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Pounded him as maize is pounded, 
Till his skull was crushed to pieces. 160 

Six tall hunters, lithe and limber, 
Bore him home on poles and branches, 
Bore the body of the beaver; 
But the ghost, the Jeebi in him, 
Thought and felt ag Pau-Puk-Keewis, 165 

Still lived on as Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

And it fluttered, strove, and struggled, 
Waving hither, waving thither, 
As the curtains of a wigwam 
Struggle with their thongs of deer-skin, 170 

When the wintry wind is blowing; 

164. Jeebi— Jee'bl. Ghost, spirit. 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-XEEWIS 177 

Till it drew itself together, 

Till it rose up from the body, 

Till it took the form and features 

Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis 175 

Vanishing into the forest. 

But the wary Hiawatha 
Saw the figure ere it vanished, 
Saw the form of Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Glide into the soft blue shadow 180 

Of the pine-trees of the forest: 
Toward the squares of white beyond it, 
Toward an opening in the forest, 
Like a wind it rushed and panted, 
Bending all the boughs before it, 185 

And behind it, as the rain comes, 
Came the steps of Hiawatha. 

To a lake with many islands 
Came the breathless Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Where among the water-lilies 190 

Pishnekuh, the brant, were sailing; 
Through the tufts of rushes floating, 
Steering through the reedy islands. 
Now their broad black beaks they lifted, 
Now they plunged beneath the water, 195 

Now they darkened in the shadow, 
Now they brightened in the sunshine. 

" Pishnekuh! " cried Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
" Pishnekuh! my brothers!" said he, 
" Change me to a brant with plumage, 200 

191. Pishnekuh— PIsh-ne-kuh'. The brant. 



178 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

With a shining neck and feathers, 
Make me large, and make me larger, 
Ten times larger than the others." 

Straightway to a brant they changed him, 
With two huge and dusky pinions, 205 

With a bosom smooth and rounded, 
With a bill like two great paddles, 
Made him larger than the others, 
Ten times larger than the others, 
Just as, shouting from the forest, 210 

On the shore stood Hiawatha. 

Up they rose with cry and clamor, 
With a whir and beat of pinions, 
Rose up from the reedy islands, 
From the water-flags and lilies. 215 

And they said to Pau-Puk-Keewis: 
" In your flying, look not downward, 
Take good heed and look not downward, 
Lest some strange mischance should happen, 
Lest some great mishap befall you! " 220 

Fast and far they fled to northward, 
Fast and far through mist and sunshine, 
Fed among the moor and fen-lands 
Slept among the reeds and rushes. 

On the morrow as they journeyed, 225 

Buoyed and lifted by the South-wind, 
Wafted onward by the South-wind, 
Blowing fresh and strong behind them, 
Rose a sound of human voices, 
Rose a clamor from beneath them, 230 



THE HUNTING OF PAl -PUK-KEEW1S 1 79 

From the lodges of a village, 

From the people miles beneath them. 

For the people of the village 
Saw the flock of brant with wonder, 
Saw the wings of Pau-Puk-Keewis 235 

Flapping far up in the ether, 
Broader than two doorway curtains. 

Pau-Puk-Keewis heard the shouting, 
Knew the voice of Hiawatha, 
Knew the outcry of Iagoo, 240 

And, forgetful of the warning, 
Drew his neck in, and looked downward, 
And the wind that blew behind him 
Caught his mighty fan of feathers, 
Sent him wheeling, whirling downward! 245 

All in vain did Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Struggle to regain his balance! 
Whirling round and round and downward, 
He beheld in turn the village 
And in turn the flock above him, 250 

Saw the village coming nearer, 
And the flock receding farther, 
Heard the voices growing louder, 
Heard the shouting and the laughter; 
Saw no more th<* flock above him, 255 

Only saw the earth beneath him; 
Dead out of the empty heaven, 
Dead among the shouting people, 
With a heavy sound and sullen, 
Fell the brant with broken pinions. 260 



180 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

But his soul, his ghost, his shadow, 
Still survived as Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Took again the form and features 
Of the handsome Yenadizze, 

And again went rushing onward, 265 

Followed fast by Hiawatha, 
Crying: " Not so wide the world is, 
Not so long and rough the way is, 
But my wrath shall overtake you, 
But my vengeance shall attain you! " 270 

And so near he came, so near him, 
That his hand was stretched to seize him, 
His right hand to seize and hold him, 
When the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Whirled and spun about in circles, 275 

Fanned the air into a whirlwind, 
Danced the dust and leaves about him, 
And amid the whirling eddies 
Sprang into a hollow oak-tree, 
Changed himself into a serpent, 280 

Gliding out through root and rubbish. 

With his right hand Hiawatha 
Smote amain the hollow oak-tree, 
Eent it into shreds and splinters, 
Left it lying there in fragments. 285 

But in vain; for Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Once again in human figure, 
Full in sight ran on before him, 
Sped away in gust and whirlwind, 
On the shores of Gitche Gumee, 290 



THE HUNTING OF PATJ-PtJK-KEEWIS 181 

Westward by the Big-Sea-Water, 
Came unto the rocky headlands, 
To the Pictured Eocks of sandstone, 
Looking over lake and landscape. 

And the Old Man of the Mountain, 295 

He the Manito of Mountains, 
Opened wide his rocky doorways, 
Opened wide his deep abysses, 
Giving Pau-Puk-Keewis shelter 
In his caverns dark and dreary, 300 

Bidding Pau-Puk-Keewis welcome 
To his gloomy lodge of sandstone. 

There without stood Hiawatha, 
Found the doorways closed against him, 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, ■ 305 

Smote great caverns in the sandstone, 
Cried aloud in tones of thunder, 
"Open! I am Hiawatha!" 
But the Old Man of the Mountain 
Opened not, and made no answer 310 

From the silent crags of sandstone, 
From the gloomy rock abysses. 

Then he raised his hands to heaven, 
Called imploring on the tempest, 
Called Waywassimo, the lightning, 315 

And the thunder, Annemeekee; 
And they came with night and darkness, 
Sweeping down the Big-Sea-Water 



315. Waywassimo— Wcly-wa^'ei-mO. The lightning. 

316. Annemeekee— An-nS-mee'kee. The thunder. 



182 the song of hiawatha 

From the distant Thunder Mountains; 

And the trembling Pau-Puk-Keewis 320 

Heard the footsteps of the thunder, 

Saw the red eyes of the lightning, 

Was afraid, and crouched and trembled. 

Then Waywassimo, the lightning, 
Smote the doorways of the caverns, 325 

With his war-club smote the doorways, 
Smote the jutting crags of sandstone, 
And the thunder, Annemeekee, 
Shouted down into the caverns, 
Saying, " Where is Pau-Puk-Keewis? " 330 

And the crags fell, and beneath them 
Dead among the rocky ruins 
Lay the cunnin'g Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Lay the handsome Yenadizze, 
Slain in his own human figure. 335 

Ended were his wild adventures, 
Prided were his tricks and gambols, 
Ended all his craft and cunning, 
Ended all his mischief-making, 
All his gambling and his dancing, 340 

All his wooing of the maidens. 

Then the noble Hiawatha 
Took his soul, his ghost, his shadow, 
Spake and said: " Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Never more in human figure 345 

Shall you search for new adventures; 
Never more with jest and laughter 
Dance the dust and leaves in whirlwinds; 



THE DEATH OF KWASIND 183 

But above there in the heavens 

You shall soar and sail in circles; 350 

I will change you to an eagle, 

To Keneu, the great war-eagle, 

Chief of all the fowls with feathers, 

Chief of Hiawatha's chickens." 

And the name of Pau-Puk-Keewis 355 

Lingers still among the people, 
Lingers still among the singers, 
And among the story-tellers; 
And in Winter, when the snow-flakes 
Whirl in eddies round the lodges, 360 

When the wind in gusty tumult 
O'er the smoke-flue pipes and whistles, 
" There," they cry, " comes Pau-Puk-Keewis; 
He is dancing through the village, 
He is gathering in his harvest! " 365 

XVIII 

THE DEATH OF KWASIND 

Far and wide among the nations 
Spread the name and fame of Kwasind; 
No man dared to strive with Kwasind, 
No man could compete with Kwasind. 
But the mischievous Puk-Wudjies, 5 

They the envious Little People, 
They the fairies and the pygmies, 
Plotted and conspired against him. 



184 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

" If this hateful Kwasind," said they, 
" If this great, outrageous fellow 10 

Goes on thus a little longer, 
Tearing everything he touches, 
Rending everything to pieces, 
Pilling all the world with wonder, 
What becomes of the Puk-Wudjies? 15 

Who will care for the Puk-Wudjies? 
He will tread us down like mushrooms, 
Drive us all into the water, 
Give our bodies to be eaten 

By the wicked Nee-ba-naw-baigs, 20 

By the Spirits of the water! " 

So the angry Little People 
All conspired against the Strong Man, 
All conspired to murder Kwasind. 
Yes, to rid the world of Kwasind, 25 

The audacious, overbearing, 
Heartless, haughty, dangerous Kwasind ! 

Now this wondrous strength of Kwasind 
In his crown alone was seated; 
In his crown too was his weakness; 30 

There alone could he be wounded, 
Nowhere else could weapon pierce him, 
Nowhere else could weapon harm him. 

Even there the only weapon 



20. Nee-ba-naw-baigs.— Nee-ba-naw'-baigs. Water-spirits. 

30-42. Compare this legend of Kwasind with the Greek story of 
Achilles, vulnerable only in the heel, and with the Norse story of 
Balder, who could be harmed only by the mistletoe. In the Indian 
legend the Puk-Wudjies play the part of the Norse Lok. 



THE DEATH OF KAVASIND 185 

That could wound him, that could slay him, 35 

Was the seed-cone of the pine-tree, 

Was the blue-cone of the fir-tree. 

This was Kwasind's fatal secret, 

Known to no man among mortals; 

But the cunning Little People, 40 

The Puk-Wudjies, knew the secret, 

Knew the only way to kill him. 

So they gathered cones together, 
Gathered seed-cones of the pine-tree, 
Gathered blue cones of the fir-tree, 45 

In the woods by Taquamenaw, 
Brought them to the river's margin, 
Heaped them in great piles together, 
Where the red rocks from the margin, 
Jutting overhang the river. 50 

There they lay in wait for Kwasind, 
The malicious Little People. 

'Twas an afternoon in Summer; 
Very hot and still the air was, 
Very smooth the gliding river, 55 

Motionless the sleeping shadows: 
Insects glistened in the sunshine, 
Insects skated on the water, 
Filled the drowsy air with buzzing, 
With a far-resounding war-cry. 60 

Down the river came the Strong Man, 
In his birch canoe came Kwasind, 
Floating slowly down the current 
Of the sluggish Taquamenaw, 



186 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Very languid with the weather, 65 

Very sleepy with the silence. 

From the overhanging branches, 
From the tassels of the birch-trees, 
Soft the Spirit of Sleep descended; 
By his airy hosts surrounded, 70 

His invisible attendants, 
Came the Spirit of Sleep, Nepahwin; 
Like the burnished Dush-kwo-ne-she, 
Like a dragon-fly, he hovered 
O'er the drowsy head of Kwabind. 75 

To his ear there came a murmur 
As of waves upon a sea-shore, 
As of far-off tumbling waters, 
As of winds among the pine-trees; 
And he felt upon his forehead 80 

Blows of little airy war-clubs, 
Wielded by the slumbrous legions 
Of the Spirit of Sleep, Nepahwin, 
As of someone breathing on him. 

At the first blow of their war-clubs, 85 

Fell a drowsiness on Kwasind; 
At the second blow they smote him, 
Motionless his paddle rested; 
At the third, before his vision 
Keeled the landscape into darkness, 90 

Very sound asleep was Kwasind. 

So he floated down the river, 
Like a blind man seated upright, 
Floated down the Tpxjuamenaw, 



THE DEATH OF KWASIND lb t 

Underneath the trembling birch-trees, 95 

Underneath the wooded headlands, 
Underneath the war encampment 
Of the pygmies, the Puk-Wudjies. 

There they stood, all armed and waiting, 
Hurled the pine-cones down upon him, 100 

Struck him on his brawny shoulders, 
On his crown defenseless struck him. 
"Death to Kwasind! " was the sudden 
War-cry of the Little People. 

And he sideways swayed and tumbled, 105 

Sideways fell into the river, 
Plunged beneath the sluggish water 
Headlong, as an otter plunges; 
And the birch canoe, abandoned, 
Drifted empty down the river, 110 

Bottom upward swerved and drifted: 
Nothing more was seen of Kwasind. 

But the memory of the Strong Man 
Lingered long among the people, 
And whenever through the forest 115 

Paged and roared the wintry tempest, 
And the branches, tossed and troubled, 
Creaked and groaned and split asunder, 
" Kwasind! " cried they; " that is Kwasind! 
He is gathering in his fire-wood! " 120 



188 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

XIX 

THE GHOSTS 

Never stoops the soaring vulture 
On his quarry in the desert, 
On the sick or wounded bison, 
But another vulture, watching 
From his high aerial look-out, 5 

Sees the downward plunge, and follows; 
And a third pursues the second, 
Coming from the invisible ether, 
First a speck, and then a vulture, 
Till the air is dark with pinions. 10 

So disasters come not singly; 
But as if they watched and waited, 
Scanning one another's motions, 
When the first descends, the others 
Follow, follow, gathering flock-wise 15 

Round their victim, sick and wounded, 
First a shadow, then a sorrow, 
Till the air is dark with anguish. 

Now, o'er all the dreary North-land, 
Mighty Peboan, the Winter, 20 

Breathing on the lakes and rivers, 
Into stone had changed their waters. 
From his hair he shook the snow-flakes, 
Till the plains were strewn with whiteness, 
One uninterrupted level, 25 



THE GHOSTS 189 

As if, stooping, the Creator 

With his hand had smoothed them over. 

Through the forest, wide and wailing, 
Roamed the hunter on his snow-shoes; 
In the village worked the women, 30 

Pounded maize, or dressed the deer-skin; 
And the young men played together 
On the ice the noisy ball-play, 
On the pkin the dance of snow-shoes. 

One dark evening, after sundown, 35 

In her wigwam Laughing Water 
Sat with old Xokomis, waiting 
For the steps of Hiawatha 
Homeward from the hunt returning. 

On their faces gleamed the fire-light, 40 

Painting them with streaks of crimson, 
In the eyes of old Xokomis 
Glimmered like the watery moonlight, 
In the eyes of Laughing Water 
Glistened like the sun in water; 45 

And behind them crouched their shadows 
In the corners of the wigwam, 
And the smoke in wreaths above them 
Climbed and crowded through the smoke-flue. 

Then the curtain of the doorway 50 

From without was slowly lifted; 
Brighter glowed the fire a moment, 

50-59. Among the American Indians, as among most savage tribes, 
the duties of hospitality were held sacred. To claim their benefits 
friend, stranger, or enemy, had only to enter a lodge and seat himself 
by the fire. 



190 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And a moment swerved the smoke-wreath, 

As two women entered softly, 

Passed the doorway uninvited, 55 

Without word or salutation, 

Without sign of recognition, 

Sat down in the farthest corner, 

Crouching low among the shadows. 

From their aspect and their garments, 60 

Strangers seemed they in the village; 
Very pale and haggard were they, 
As they sat there sad and silent, 
Trembling, cowering with the shadows. 

Was it the wind above the smoke-flue, 65 

Muttering down into the wigwam? 
Was it the owl, the Koko-koho, 
Hooting from the dismal forest? 
Sure a voice said in the silence : 
" These are corpses clad in garments, 70 

These are ghosts that come to haunt you, 
From the kingdom of Ponemah, 
From the land of the Hereafter! " 

Homeward now came Hiawatha 
From his hunting in the forest, 75 

With the snow upon his tresses, 
And the red deer on his shoulders. 
At the feet of Laughing Water 
Down he threw his lifeless burden; 
Nobler, handsomer she thought him, 80 

Than when first he came to woo her, 

67. Koko-Koho.— KO'kO-kO'ho. The owl. 



THE GHOSTS 191 

First threw down the deer before her, 
As a token of his wishes, 
x\s a promise of the future. 

Then he turned and saw the strangers, 85 

Cowering, crouching with the shadows; 
Said within himself, " Who are they? 
What strange guests has Minnehaha? " 
But he questioned not the strangers, 
Only spake to bid them welcome 90 

To his lodge, his food, his fireside. 

When the evening meal was ready, 
And the deer had been divided, 
Both the pallid guests, the strangers, 
Springing from among the shadows, 95 

Seized upon the choicest portions, 
Seized the white fat of the roebuck, 
Set apart for Laughing Water, 
For the wife of Hiawatha; 

Without asking, without thanking, 100 

Eagerly devoured the morsels, 
Flitted back among the shadows 
In the corner of the wigwam. 

Xot a word spake Hiawatha, 
Xot a motion made Xokomis, 105 

Xot a gesture Laughing Water; 
Xot a change came o'er their features; 
Only Minnehaha softly 



97. The fat of animals is esteemed by the Indians as the choicest 
part. 



102 THE SOKG- OF HIAWATHA 

Whispered, saying, " They are famished; 

Let them do what best delights them; 110 

Let them eat, for they are famished." 

Many a daylight dawned and darkened, 
Many a night shook off the daylight 
As the pine shakes off the snow-flakes 
From the midnight of its branches; 115 

Day by day the guests unmoving 
Sat there silent in the wigwam; 
But by night, in storm or starlight, 
Forth they went into the forest, 
Bringing fire-wood to the wigwam, 120 

Bringing pine-cones for the burning, 
Always sad and always silent. 

And whenever Hiawatha 
Came from fishing or from hunting, 
When the evening meal was ready, 125 

And the food had been divided, 
Gliding from their darksome corner, 
Came the pallid guests, the strangers, 
Seized upon the choicest portions 
Set aside for Laughing Water, 130 

And without rebuke or question 
Flitted back among the shadows. 

Never once had Hiawatha 
By a word or look reproved them; 
Never once had old Nokomis 135 

Made a gesture of impatience; 
Never once had Laughing Water 
Shown resentment at the outrage. 



THE GHOSTS 103 

All had they endured in silence, 

That the rights of guest and stranger, 140 

That the virtue of free-giving, 

By a look might not be lessened, 

By a word might not be broken. 

Once at midnight Hiawatha, 
Ever wakeful, ever watchful, 145 

In the wigwam, dimly lighted 
By the brands that still were burning, 
By the glimmering, flickering fire-light, 
Heard a sighing, oft repeated, 
Heard a sobbing, as of sorrow. 150 

From his couch rose Hiawatha, 
From his shaggy hides of bison, 
Pushed aside the deer-skin curtain, 
Saw the pallid guests, the shadows, 
Sitting upright on their couches, 155 

Weeping in the silent midnight. 

And he said: " guests! why is it 
That your hearts are so afflicted, 
That you sob so in the midnight? 
Has perchance the old Nokomis, 160 

Has my wife, my Minnehaha, 
Wronged or grieved you by unkindness, 
Failed in hospitable duties? " 

Then the shadows ceased from weeping, 
Ceased from sobbing and lamenting, 165 

And they said with gentle voices: 
" We are ghosts of the departed, 
Souls of those who once were with you. 



194 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

From the realms of Chibiabos 

Hither have we come to try you, 170 

Hither have we come to warn you. 

" Cries of grief and lamentation 
Reach us in the Blessed Islands; 
Cries of anguish from the living, 
Calling back their friends departed, 175 

Sadden us with useless sorrow. 
Therefore have we come to try you; 
No one knows us, no one heeds us. 
We are but a burden to you, 
And we see that the departed 180 

Have no place among the living. 

" Think of this, Hiawatha! 
Speak of it to all the people, 
That henceforward and forever 
They no more with lamentations 185 

Sadden the souls of the departed 
In the Island of the Blessed. 

" Do not lay such heavy burdens 
In the graves of those you bury, 
Not such weight of furs and wampum, 190 

Not such weight of pots and kettles, 
For the spirits faint beneath them. 
Only give them food to carry, 
Only give them fire to light them. 

" Four days is the spirit's journey 195 



169. Realms of Chibiabos. According to the legend, Chibiabos, the 
sweet musician, became after his death the ruler of the land of 

spirits. 



THE GHOSTS 195 

To the land of ghosts and shadows, 

Four its lonely night encampments; 

Four times must their fires be lighted. 

Therefore, when the dead are buried, 

Let a fire, as night approaches, 200 

Four times on the grave be kindled, 

That the soul upon its journey 

May not lack the cheerful fire-light, 

May not grope about in darkness. 

"Farewell, noble Hiawatha! 205 

We have put you to the trial, 
To the proof have put your patience, 
By the insult of our presence, 
By the outrage of our actions. 
We have found you great and noble. 210 

Fail not in the greater trial, 
Faint not in the harder struggle." 

When they ceased, a sudden darkness 
Fell and filled the silent wigwam. 
Hiawatha heard a rustle 215 

As of garments trailing by him, 
Heard the curtain of the doorway 
Lifted by a hand he saw not, 
Felt the cold breath of the night air, 
For a moment saw T the starlight; 220 

But he saw the ghosts no longer, 
Saw no more the wandering spirits 
From the kingdom of Ponemah, 
From the land of the Hereafter. 



196 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

XX 

THE FAMINE 

the long and dreary Winter! 
the cold and cruel Winter! 
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker 
Froze the ice on lake and river, 
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper 5 

Fell the snow o'er all the landscape, 
Fell the covering snow, and drifted 
Through the forest, round the village. 

Hardly from his buried wigwam 
Could' the hunter force a passage; 10 

With his mittens and his snow-shoes* 
Vainly walked he through the forest, 
Sought for bird or beast and found none, 
Saw no track of deer or rabbit, 
In the snow beheld no footprints, 15 

In the ghastly, gleaming forest 
Fell, and could not rise from weakness, 
Perished there from cold and hunger. 

the famine and the fever! 
the wasting of the famine! 20 

the blasting of the fever! 
the wailing of the children! 
the anguish of the women! 

All the earth was sick and famished; 
Hungry was the air around them, 25 

Hungry was the sky above them, 



THE FAMINE 197 

And the hungry stars in heaven 

Like the eyes of wolves glared at them! 

Into Hiawatha's wigwam 
Came two other guests, as silent 30 

As the ghosts were, and as gloomy, 
Waited not to he invited, 
Did not parley at the doorway, 
Sat there without word of welcome 
In the seat of Laughing Water; 35 

Looked with haggard eyes and hollow 
At the face of Laughing Water. 

And the foremost said: " Behold me! 
I am Famine, Bukadawin! " 

And the other said: "Behold me! 40 

I am Fever, Ahkosewin! " 

And the lovely Minnehaha 
Shuddered as they looked upon her, 
Shuddered at the words they uttered, 
Lay down on her bed in silence, 45 

Hid her face, but made no answer, 
Lay there trembling, freezing, burning 
At the looks they cast upon her, 
At the fearful words they uttered. 

Forth into the empty forest 50 

Bushed the maddened Hiawatha; 
In his heart was deadly sorrow, 
In his face a stony firmness; 
On his brow the sweat of anguish 
Started, but it froze and fell not. 55 

30. Bukadawin.— Buka-da'win. Famine. 
41. Ahkosewin.— Ah-kG-s^'wIn. Fever. 



198 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Wrapped in furs and armed for hunting. 
With his mighty bow of ash-tree, 
With his quiver full of arrows, 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Into the vast and vacant forest 60 

On his snow-shoes strode he forward. 

" Gitehe Manito, the Mighty! " 
Cried he with his face uplifted 
In that bitter hour of anguish, 
" Give your children food, father! 65 

Give us food, or we must perish! 
Give me food for Minnehaha! 
For my dying Minnehaha! " 

Through the far-resounding forest, 
Through the forest vast and vacant 70 

Rang that cry of desolation, 
But there came no other answer 
Than the echo of his crying, 
Than the echo of the woodlands, 
" Minnehaha! Minnehaha! " 75 

All day long roved Hiawatha 
In that melancholy forest, 
Through the shadow of whose thickets, 
In the pleasant days of Summer, 
Of that ne'er forgotten Summer, 80 

He had brought his young wife homeward 
From the land of the Dacotahs; 
When the birds sang in the thickets, 
And the streamlets laughed and glistened, 
And the air was full of fragrance, 85 



THE FAMINE 199 

And the lovely Laughing Water 
Said with voice that did not tremble, 
"I will follow you, my husband!" 

In the wigwam with Nokomis, 
With those gloomy guests, that watched her, 90 
With the Famine and the Fever, 
She was lying, the Beloved, 
She was dying, Minnehaha. 

" Hark! " she said; " I hear a rushing, 
Hear a roaring and a rushing, 95 

Hear the Falls of Minnehaha 
Calling to me from a distance! " 
" No, my child! " said old Nokomis, 
" 'Tis the night-wind in the pine-trees! " 

" Look! " she said; " I see my father 100 

Standing lonely at his doorway, 
Beckoning to me from his wigwam 
In the land of the Dacotahs! " 
" No, my child! " said old Nokomis, 
"'Tis the smoke, that waves and beckons! " 105 

" Ah! " she said, " the eyes of Pauguk 
Glare upon me in the darkness, 
I can feel his icy fingers 
Clasping mine amid the darkness! 
Hiawatha! Hiawatha! " 110 

And the desolate Hiawatha, 
Far away amid the forest, 
Miles away among the mountains, 
Heard that sudden cry of anguish, 
Heard the voice of Minnehaha 115 



200 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Calling to him in the darkness, 
" Hiawatha! Hiawatha! " 

Over snow-fields waste and pathless, 
Under snow-encumbered branches, 
Homeward hurried Hiawatha, 120 

Empty-handed, heavy-hearted, 
Heard Nokomis moaning, wailing: 
"Wahonowin! Wahonowin! 
Would that I had perished for you, 
Would that I were dead as you are! 125 

Wahonowin! Wahonowin! " 

And he rushed into the wigwam, 
Saw the old Nokomis slowly 
Eocking to and fro and moaning, 
Saw his lovely Minnehaha 130 

Lying dead and cold before him, 
And his bursting heart within him 
Uttered such a cry of anguish, 
That the forest moaned and shuddered, 
That the very stars in heaven 135 

Shook and trembled with his anguish. 

Then he sat down, still and speechless, 
On the bed of Minnehaha, 
At the feet of Laughing Water, 
At those willing feet, that -never 140 

More would lightly run to meet him, 
Never more would lightly follow. 

With both hands his face he covered, 
Seven long days and nights he sat there, 
As if in a swoon he sat there, 145 



THE FAMINE 201 

Speechless, motionless, unconscious 
Of the daylight or the darkness. 

Then they buried Minnehaha; 
In the snow a grave they made her, 
In the forest deep and darksome, 150 

Underneath the moaning hemlocks; 
Clothed her in her richest garments, 
Wrapped her in her robes of ermine, 
Covered her with snow, like ermine; 
Thus they buried Minnehaha. 155 

And at night a fire was lighted, 
On her grave four times was kindled, 
For her soul upon its journey, 
To the Islands of the Blessed. 
From his doorway Hiawatha 160 

Saw it burning in the forest, 
Lighting up the gloomy hemlocks; 
From his sleepless bed uprising, 
From the bed of Minnehaha, 
Stood and watched it at the doorway, 165 

That it might not be extinguished, 
Might not leave her in the darkness. 

"Farewell!" said he, " Minnehaha! 
Farewell, my Laughing Water! 
All my heart is buried with you, • 170 

All my thoughts go onward with you! 
Come not back again to labor, 
Come not back again to suffer, 
Where the Famine and the Fever 
Wear the heart and waste the body. 175 



202 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Soon my task will be completed, 

Soon your footsteps I shall follow 

To the Islands of the Blessed, 

To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 

To the Land of the Hereafter! " 180 



XXI 

THE WHITE MAN'S FOOT 

In his lodge beside a river, 
Close beside a frozen river, 
Sat an old man sad and lonely. 
White his hair was as a snow-drift; 
Dull and low his fire was burning, 5 

1-105. The story of Peboan and Segwun is an Ojibway legend. As an 
example of the form in which Longfellow found these legends in 
Schoolcraft, this story is given complete from " Aigic Researches." 

"An old man was sitting alone in his lodge, by the side of a frozen 
stream. It was the close of winter, and his fire was almost out. He 
appeared very old and very desolate. His locks were white with age, 
and he trembled in every joint. Day after day passed in solitude, and 
he heard nothing but the sounds of the tempest, sweeping before it the 
new-fallen snow. 

" One day, as his fire was just dying, a handsome young man 
approached and entered his dwelling. His cheeks were red with the 
blood of youth, his eyes sparkled with animation, and a smile played 
upon his lips. He walked with a light and quick step. His forehead 
was bound with a wreath of sweet grass, ;n place of a warrior's frontlet, 
and he carried a bunch of flowers in his hand. 

44 4 Ah, my son,' said the old man, 4 1 am happy to see you. Come in. 
Come, tell me of your adventures, and what strange lands you have been 
to see. Let us pass the night together. I will tell you of my prowess 
and exploits, and what I can perform. You shall do the same, and we 
will amuse ourselves.' 

44 He then drew from his sack a curiously-wrought antique pipe, and 
having filled it with tobacco, rendered mild by an admixture of certain 



THE WHITE MAN'S FOOT 203 

And the old man shook and trembled, 
Folded in his Waubewyon, 

In his tattered white-skin-wrapper, 

Hearing nothing but the tempest 

As it roared along the forest, 10 

Seeing nothing but the snow-storm, 

As it whirled and hissed and drifted. 



leaves, handed it to his guest. When this ceremony was concluded 
they began to speak. 

11 ' 1 blow my breath,' said the old man, 'and the streams stand still. 
The water becomes stiff and hard as a clear stone.' 

14 ' I breathe,' said the young man, ' and flowers spring up all over the 
plains.' 

"'I shake my locks,' retorted the old man, 'and snow covers the 
land. The leaves fall from the trees at my command, and my breath 
blows them away. The birds get up from the water, and fly to a distant 
and. The animals hide themselves from my breath, and the very 
grouud becomes as hard as flint.' 

l " I shake my ringlets,' rejoined the young man, * and warm 6howers 
of soft rain fall upon the earth. The plants lift up their heads out of 
the earth, like the eyes of children glistening with delight. My voice 
recalls the birds. The warmth of my breath unlocks the streams. 
Music fills the groves wherever I walk, and all nature rejoices.' 

" At length the sun began to rise. A gentle warmth came over the 
place. The tongue of the old man became silent. The robin and blue- 
bird began to sing on the top of the lodge. The stream began to mur- 
mur by the door, and the fragrance of growing herbs and flowers came 
softly on the vernal breeze. 

"Daylight fully revealed to the young man the character of his enter- 
tainer. When he looked upon him, he had the icy visage of Peboan. 
Streams began to flow from his eyes. As the sun increased, he grew 
less and less in stature, and anon had melted completely away. Noth- 
ing remained on the place of his lodge fire but the miskodeed, a small 
white flower with a pink border, which is one of the earliest species of 
Northern plants." 

7. Waubewyon— W(iu-be-wy'6n. A white skin wrapper, a blanket. 
Waubewyon, signifying literally a white skin with the wool on, is com- 
paratively a modern word. The most ancient garment known to the 
Indian tribes was the conaus, a simple extended single piece, without 
folds. 



204 THE SONG OP HIAWATHA 

All the coals were white with ashes, 
And the fire was slowly dyings 
As a young man, walking lightly, 15 

At the open doorway entered. 
Red with blood of youth his cheeks were, 
Soft his eyes as stars in Spring-time, 
Bound his forehead was with grasses, 
Bound and plumed with scented grasses; 20 

On his lips a smile of beauty, 
Filling all the lodge with sunshine, 
In his hand a bunch of blossoms 
Filling all the lodge with sweetness. 

" Ah, my son! " exclaimed the old man, 25 

" Happy are my eyes to see you. 
Sit here on the mat beside me, 
Sit here by the dying embers, 
Let us pass the night together. 
Tell me of your strange adventures, 30 

Of the lands where you have traveled; 
I will tell you of my prowess, 
Of my many deeds of wonder." 

From his pouch he drew his peace-pipe, 
Very old and strangely fashioned; 35 

Made of red stone was the pipe-head, 
And the stem a reed with feathers; 
Filled the pipe with bark of willow, 
Placed a burning coal upon it, 
Gave it to his guest, the stranger, 40 

And began to speak in this wise: 

" When I blow my breath about me, 



THE WHITE MAN S FOOT 205 

When I breathe upon the landscape, 

Motionless are all the rivers, 

Hard as stone becomes the water! " 45 

And the young man answered, smiling: 
u When I blow my breath about me, 
When 1 breathe upon the landscape, 
Flowers spring up o'er all the meadows, 
Singing, onward rush the rivers! " 50 

" When I shake my hoary tresses/' 
Said the old man, darkly frowning, 
" All the land with snow is covered; 
All the leaves from all the branches 
Fall and fade and die and wither, 55 

For I breathe, and lo! they are not. 
From the waters and the marshes 
Eise the wild goose and the heron, 
Fly away to distant regions, 

For 1 speak, and lo! they are not. 60 

And where'er my footsteps wander, 
All the wild beasts of the forest 
Hide themselves in holes and caverns, 
And the earth becomes as flintstone! " 

" When I shake my flowing ringlets," 65 

Said the young man, softly laughing, 
" Showers of rain fall warm and welcome, 
Plants lift up their heads rejoicing, 
Back unto their lakes and marshes 
Come the wild goose and the heron, 70 

Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow, 
Sing the bluebird and the robin, 



206 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

And where'er my footsteps wander, 

All the meadows wave with blossoms, 

All the woodlands ring with music, 75 

All the trees are dark with foliage! " 

While they spake, the night departed: 
From the distant realms of Wabun, 
From his shining lodge of silver, 
Like a warrior robed and painted, 80 

Came the sun, and said, " Behold me! 
Gheezis, the great sun, behold me! " 

Then the old man's tongue was speechless 
And the air grew warm and pleasant, 
And upon the wigwam sweetly 85 

Sang the blue-bird and the robin, 
And the stream began to murmur, 
And a scent of growing grasses 
Through the lodge was gently wafted. 

And Segwun, the youthful stranger, 90 

More distinctly in the daylight 
Saw the icy face before him; 
It was Peboan, the Winter! 

From his eyes the tears were flowing, 
As from melting lakes the streamlets, 95 

And his body shrunk and dwindled 
As the shouting sun ascended, 
Till into the air it faded, 
Till into the ground it vanished, 
And the young man saw before him, 100 

On the hearth-stone of the wigwam, 
Where the fire had smoked and smoldered, 



207 

Saw the earliest flower of Spring-time, 

Saw the beauty of the Spring-time, 

Saw the Miskodeed in blossom. 105 

Thus it was that in the North-land 
After that unheard-of coldness, 
That intolerable Winter, 
Came the Spring with all its splendor, 
All its birds and all its blossoms, 110 

All its flowers and leaves and grasses. 

Sailing on the wind to northward, 
Flying in great flocks, like arrows, 
Like huge arrows shot through heaven, 
Passed the swan, the Mahnahbezee, 115 

Speaking almost as a man speaks; 
And in long lines waving, bending 
Like a bow-string snapped asunder, 
Came the white goose, AVaw-be-wawa; 
And in pairs, or singly flying, 120 

Mahng the loon, with clangorous pinions, 
The blue heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
And the grouse, the Mushkodasa. 

In the thickets and the meadows 
Piped the bluebird, the Owaissa, 125 

On the summit of the lodges 
Sang the robin, the Opechee, 
In the covert of the pine-trees 

105. Miskodeed— Mis-kO-deed'. The Spring Beauty, the Claytonia 
Virginica; a small white flower with a pink border, which is one of the 
earliest species of Northern plants. 
115. Mahnahbezee— Mah-nah-bg'zee. The swan 
119. Waw-be-wawa— Waw-be-wa/w(i. The white goose. 



208 THE SOtfG OF HIAWATHA 

Cooed the pigeon, the Omemee, 

And the sorrowing Hiawatha, 130 

Speechless in his infinite sorrow, 

Heard their voices calling to him, 

Went forth from his gloomy doorway, 

Stood and gazed into the heaven, 

Gazed upon the earth and waters. 135 

From his wanderings far to eastward, 
From the regions of the morning, 
From the shining land of Wabun, 
Homeward now returned Iagoo, 
The great traveler, the great boaster, 140 

Full of new and strange adventures, 
Marvels many and many wonders. 

And the people of the village 
Listened to him as he told them 
Of his marvelous adventures, 145 

Laughing answered him in this wise: 
" Ugh! it is indeed Iagoo! 
No one else beholds such wonders! " 

He had seen, he said, a water 
Bigger than the Big-Sea- Water, 150 

Broader than the Gitche Gumee, 
Bitter so that none could drink it! 
At each other looked the warriors, 
Looked the women at each other, 
Smiled, and said, " It cannot be so! 155 

Kaw! " they said, " it cannot be so! " 

O'er it, said he, o'er this water 
Came a great canoe with pinions, 



THE WHITE MAN'S FOOT 209 

A canoe with wings came flying, 

Bigger than a grove of pine-trees, 160 

Taller than the tallest tree-tops! 

And the old men and the women 

Looked and tittered at each other; 

" Kaw! " thev said. " we don't believe it! " 

From its mouth, he said, to greet him, 165 

Came AYaywassimo, the lightning, 
Came the thunder, Annemeekee! 
And the warriors and the women 
Laughed aloud at poor Iagoo; 
" Kaw! " they said, " what tales you tell us! " 

In it, said he, came a people, 171 

In the great canoe with pinions 
Came, he said, a hundred warriors; 
Painted white were all their faces, 
And with hair their chins were covered! 175 

And the warriors and the women 
Laughed and shouted in derision, 
Like the ravens on the tree-tops, 
Like the crows upon the hemlocks. 
" Kaw! " they said, " what lies you tell us! 180 
Do not think that we believe them! " 

Only Hiawatha laughed not, 
But he gravely spake and answered 
To their jeering and their jesting: 
" True is all Iagoo tells us; 185 

I have seen it in a vision, 



186. There seem to have been among many Indian tribes of America 
curious predictions of the coming of a white race, heroes of the dawn. 



210 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Seen the great canoe with pinions, 

Seen the people with white faces, 

Seen the coming of this bearded 

People of the wooden vessel 190 

From the regions of the morning, 

From the shining land of Wabun. 

" Gitche Manito the Mighty, 
The Great Spirit, the Creator, 
Sends them hither on his errand, 195 

Sends them to us with his message. 
Wheresoever they move, before them 
Swarms the stinging fly, the Ahmo, 
Swarms the bee, the honey-maker; 
Wheresoever they tread, beneath them 200 

Springs a flower unknown among us, 
Springs the White-man's Foot in blossom. 

" Let us welcome, then, the strangers, 
Hail them as our friends and brothers, 
And the heart's right hand of friendship 205 

Give them when they come to see us. 
Gitche Manito, the Mighty, 
Said this to me in my vision. 

" I beheld, too, in that vision 
All the secrets of the future, 210 



Hence the Spaniards, welcomed and yielded to as superiors by the 
Mexicans and Peruvians, found conquest so easy. 

198. Ahmo— Ahmo. The bee. 

202. The "White Man's Foot. The common plantain, Plantago 
major. Longfellow had noted in his diary that Agassiz had pointed out 
this plant to him, saying that the Indians called it "White Man's 
Foot," because it advances into the wilderness with the white 
settlers. 



211 

Of the distant days that shall be. 

I beheld the westward marches 

Of the unknown, crowded nations. 

All the land was full of people, 

Restless, struggling, toiling, striving, 215 

Speaking many tongues, yet feeling 

But one heart-beat in their bosoms. 

In the woodlands rang their axes, 

Smoked their towns in all the valleys, 

Over all the lakes and rivers 220 

Bushed their great canoes of thundei;. 

" Then a darker, drearier vision 
Passed before me, vague and cloud-like: 
I beheld our nation scattered, 
All forgetful of my counsel, 225 

Weakened, warring with each other; 
Saw the remnants of our people 
Sweeping westward, wild and woful, 
Like the cloud-rack of a tempest, 
Like the withered leaves of autumn! " 230 

XXII 
hiawatha's departure 

By the shore of Gitche Gumee, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
At the doorway of his wigwam, 
In the pleasant Summer morning, 
Hiawatha stood and waited. 5 

All the air was full of freshness, 



212 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

All the earth was bright and joyous, 

And before him, through the sunshine, 

Westward toward the neighboring forest 

Passed in golden swarms the Ahmo, 10 

Passed the bees, the honey-makers, 

Burning, singing in the sunshine. 

Bright above him shone the heavens, 
Level spread the lake before him; 
From its bosom leaped the sturgeon, 15 

Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine; 
On its margin the great forest 
Stood reflected in the water, 
Every tree-top had its shadow, 
Motionless beneath the water. 20 

From the brow of Hiawatha, 
Gone was every trace of sorrow, 
As the fog from off the water, 
As the mist from off the meadow. 
With a smile of joy and triumph, 25 

With a look of exultation, 
As of one who in a vision 
Sees what is to be, but is not, 
Stood and waited Hiawatha. 

Toward the sun his hands were lifted, 30 

Both the palms spread out against it, 
And between the parted fingers 
Fell the sunshine on his features, 
Flecked with light his naked shoulders, 
As it falls and flecks an oak-tree 35 

Through the rifted leaves and branches. 



hiawatha's departure 213 

O'er the water floating, flying, 
Something in the hazy distance, 
Something in the mists of morning, 
Loomed and lifted from the water, 40 

Now seemed floating, now seemed flying, 
Coming nearer, nearer, nearer. 

Was it Shingebis the diver? 
"Was it the pelican, the Shada? 
Or the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah? 45 

Or the white goose, Waw-be-wawa, 
With the water dripping, flashing 
From its glossy neck and feathers? 

It was neither goose nor diver, 
Neither pelican nor heron, 50 

O'er the water floating, flying, 
Through the shining mist of morning, 
But a birch canoe with paddles, 
Eising, sinking on the water, 
Dripping, flashing in the sunshine; 55 

And within it came a people 
From the distant land of Wabun, 
From the farthest realms of morning 
Came the Black-Robe chief, the Prophet, 
He the Priest of Prayer, the Pale-face, 60 

With his guides and his companions. 

And the noble Hiawatha, 
With his hands aloft extended, 

44. Shada— Sha'da. The pelican. 

59. Black Robe. This was the Indian name for a Jesuit mission- 
ary. The Jesuits, zealous for their religion, were the first Europeans 
who penetrated the wilds of the Northwest. 



214 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Held aloft in sign of welcome, 

Waited, full of exultation, 65 

Till the birch canoe with paddles 

Grated on the shining pebbles, 

Stranded on the sandy margin, 

Till the Black-Eobe chief, the Pale-face, 

With the cross upon his bosom, 70 

Landed on the sandy margin. 

Then the joyous Hiawatha 
Cried aloud and spake in this wise: 
" Beautiful is the sun, strangers, 
When you come so far to see us! 75 

All our town in peace awaits you, 
All our doors stand open for you; 
You shall enter all our wigwams, 
For the heart's right hand we give you. 

" Never bloomed the earth so gayly, 80 

Never shone the sun so brightly, 

74-127. " At the door of the cabin in which we were to be received was 
an old man awaiting us. He stood with his hands stretched out and 
raised towards the sun. When we came near him, he addressed this 
compliment to us: 'How beautiful is the sun, O Frenchman, when 
thou comest to visit us! all our town awaits thee, and thou shalt 
enter all our cabins in peace. 1 He then took us into his, where there 
was a crowd of people, who devoured us with their eyes, but maintained 
the deepest silence. We heard, however, these words occasionally 
addressed to us: ■ Well done, brothers, to visit us I * •' —Marquette. This 
was on a visit to the Illinois, an Algonquin tribe, in 1673. The peace calu- 
met was then smoked and Marquette explained that the object of their 
voyage was to visit the tribes on the Mississippi and announce to them 
the word of God. The Sachem answered: " I thank thee, Black-gown, 
and thee, Frenchman, for taking so much pains to come and visit us; 
never has the earth been so beautiful, nor the sun so bright as to-day; 
never has our river been so calm, nor so free from rocks, which your 
canoes have removed as they passed; never has our tobacco had so fine 
a flavor, nor our corn appeared so beautiful as we behold it to-day." 



215 

As to-day they shine and blossom 

When you come so far to see us! 

Never was our lake so tranquil, 

Nor so free from rocks and sand-bars; 85 

For your birch canoe in passing 

Has removed both rock and sand-bar ! 

" Never before had our tobacco 
Such a sweet and pleasant flavor, 
Never the broad leaves of our corn-fields 90 

Were so beautiful to look on, 
As they seem to us this morning, 
When you come so far to see us!. " 

And the Black-Kobe chief made answer, 
Stammered in his speech a little, 95 

Speaking words yet unfamiliar: 
" Peace be with you, Hiawatha, 
Peace be with you and your people, 
Peace of prayer, and peace of pardon, 
Peace of Christ, and joy of Mary! " 100 

Then the generous Hiawatha 
Led the strangers to his wigwam, 
Seated them on skins of bison, 
Seated them on skins of ermine, 
And the careful old Nokomis 105 

Brought them food in bowls of bass-wood, 
Water brought in birchen dippers, 
And the calumet, the peace-pipe, 
Filled and lighted for their smoking. 

All the old men of the village, 110 

All the warriors of the nation, 



216 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

All the Jossakeeds, the prophets, 

The magicians, the Wabenos, 

And the medicine-men, the Medas, 

Came to bid the strangers welcome; 115 

" It is well," they said, " brothers, 

That you come so far to see us! " 

In a circle round the doorway, 
With their pipes they sat in silence, 
Waiting to behold the strangers, 120 

Waiting to receive their message; 
Till the Black-Robe chief, the Pale-face, 
From the wigwam came to greet them, 
Stammering in his speech a little, 
Speaking words yet unfamiliar; 125 

" It is well," they said,- " brother, 
That you come so far to see us! " 

Then the Black-Eobe chief, the Prophet, 
Told his message to the people, 
Told the purport of his mission, 130 

Told them of the Virgin Mary, 
And her blessed Son, the Saviour, 
How in distant lands and ages 
He had lived on earth as we do; 
How he fasted, prayed, and labored; 135 

How the Jews, the tribe accursed, 
Mocked him, scourged him, crucified him; 
How he rose from where they laid him, 
Walked again with his disciples, 
And ascended into heaven. 140 

And the chiefs made answer, saying: 



Hiawatha's departure 217 

u We have listened to your message, 

We have heard your words of wisdom, 

We will think on what you tell us. 

It is well for us, brothers, 145 

That you come so far to see us! " 

Then they rose up and departed 
Each one homeward to his wigwam, 
To the young men and the women 
Told the story of the strangers 150 

Whom the Master of Life had sent them 
From the shining land of Wabun. 

Heavy with the heat and silence 
Grew the afternoon of Summer, 
With the drowsy sound the forest 155 

Whispered round the sultry wigwam, 
With a sound of sleep the water 
Eippled on the beach below it; 
From the corn-fields shrill and ceaseless 
Sang the grasshopper, Pah-puk-keena; 160 

And the guests of Hiawatha, 
Weary with the heat of Summer, 
Slumbered in the sultry wigwam. 

Slowly o'er the simmering landscape 
Fell the evening's dusk and coolness, 165 

And the long and level sunbeams 
Shot their spears into the forest, 
Breaking through its shields of shadow, 
Bushed into each secret ambush, 
Searched each thicket, dingle, hollow; 170 

170. Dingle. (Yar. of dimple.} A narrow valley. 



218 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Still the guests of Hiawatha 
Slumbered in the silent wigwam. 

From his place rose Hiawatha, 
Bade farewell to old Nokomis, 
Spake in whispers, spake in this wise, 175 

Did not wake the guests, that slumbered: 

" I am going, Nokomis, 
On a long and distant journey, 
To the portals of the Sunset, 
To the regions of the home-wind, 180 

Of the Northwest-wind, Keewaydin. 
But these guests I leave behind me, 
In your watch and ward I leave them; 
See that never harm comes near them, 
See that never fear molests them, 185 

Never danger nor suspicion, 
Never want of food or shelter, 
In the lodge of Hiawatha! " 

Forth into the village went he, 
Bade farewell to all the warriors, 190 

Bade farewell to all the young men, 
Spake persuading, spake in this wise: 

" I am going, my people, 
On a long and distant journey; 
Many moons and many winters 195 

Will have come, and will have vanished, 
Ere I come again to see you. 
But my guests I leave behind me; 
Listen to their words of wisdom, 
Listen to the truth they tell you, 200 



hiawatha's departure 219 

For the Master of Life has sent them 
From the land of light and morning! " 

On the shore stood Hiawatha, 
Turned and waved his hand at parting; 
On the clear and luminous water 205 

Launched his birch canoe for sailing, 
From the pebbles of the margin 
Shoved it forth into the water; 
Whispered to it, " Westward! westward! " 
And with speed it darted forward. 210 

And the evening sun descending 
Set the clouds on fire with redness, 
Burned the broad sky, like a prairie, 
Left upon the level water 

One long track and trail of splendor, 215 

Down whose stream, as down a river, 
Westward, westward Hiawatha 
Sailed into the fiery sunset, 
Sailed into the purple vapors, 
Sailed into the dusk of evening. 220 

And the people from the margin 
Watched him floating, rising, sinking, 
Till the birch canoe seemed lifted 
High into that sea of splendor, 
Till it sank into the vapors 225 

Like the new moon slowly, slowly 
Sinking in the purple distance. 

And they said, " Farewell forever! " 
Said, " Farewell, Hiawatha!" 
And the forests, dark and lonely, 230 



220 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA 

Moved through all their depths of darkness, 

Sighed, "Farewell, Hiawatha!" 

And the waves upon the margin 

Kising, rippling on the pebbles, 

Sobbed, "Farewell, Hiawatha!" 235 

And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 

From her haunts among the fen-lands, 

Screamed, "Farewell, Hiawatha!" 

Thus departed Hiawatha, 
Hiawatha the Beloved, 240 

In the glory of the sunset, 
In the purple mists of evening, 
To the regions of the home-wind, 
Of the Northwest-wind, Keewaydin, 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 245 

To the kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter! 



Maynard's German Texts 

A Series of German School Texts 

CAREFULLY EDITED BY SCHOLARS FAMILIAR WITH 
THE NEEDS OF THE CLASS-ROOM 

The distinguishing features of the Series are as follows: 

The Texts are chosen only from modern German authors, in 
order to give the pupil specimens of the language as it is now 
written and spoken. The German prose style of the present 
differs so largely from that of the classical period of German 
literature, from which the books in the hands of pupils are gener- 
ally taken, that the want of such texts must have been felt by 
every teacher of German. 

Each volume contains, either in excerpt or in extenso, a piece 
of German prose which, whilst continuous enough to sustain inter- 
est, will not be too long to be finished in the work of a term or two. 

The Series is composed of two progressive courses, the Ele- 
mentary and the Advanced. Some of the volumes of the Elementary 
Course contain, in addition to the notes, a complete alphabetical 
vocabulary. In the remaining volumes of the Series difficulties of 
meaning, to which the ordinary school dictionaries offer no clew, 
are dealt with in the notes at the end of each book. 

In order not to overburden the vocabularies with verbal forms 
occurring in the text, a list of the commoner strong verbs is added 
as an appendix to the volumes of the Elementary Course. 

The modern German orthography is used throughout. 

The same grammatical terminology is used in all the volumes 
of the Series. 

The volumes are attractively bound in cloth, and the type is 
large and clear. 

All the elementary numbers contain a valuable appendix on the 
strong and weak verbs. 

Specimen copies sent by mail on receipt of the price. 

No. I. Ulysses und der Kyklop, from C. F. Beck- 
er's Erzahlungen aus der Alten Welt. An especially 
easy number. Elementary. 21 pages text, 50 pages 
vocabulary. Cloth, 25 cents. 

No. 2. Fritz auf dem Lande, by Hans Arnold. 
An easy number. Elementary. 29 pages text, 28 pages 
notes, 28 pages vocabulary, 4 pages appendix. Cloth, 
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No. 3. Bilder aus der Tiirkei, from Grube's Geo- 
graphische Characterbilder. Elementary. 28 pages text, 
25 pages notes, 43 pages vocabulary and appendix. 
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No. 4. Weihnachten bei Leberecht Hiinchen, by 
Heinrich Seidel. Elementary. 26 pages text, 36 pages 
notes, 34 pages vocabulary and appendix. Cloth, 25 
cents. 



2 GERMAN PUBLICATIONS 

No. 5. Die Wandelnde Glocke, from Der Lahrer 
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No. 6. Der Besuch im Career, Humoreske, by 
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No. 7. Episodes from Andreas Hofer, by Otto 
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No. 8. Die Werke der Barmherzigkeit, by W. H. 
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No. 9. Harold, Trauerspiel in flinf Akten, by Ernst 
von Wildenbruch. Advanced. 4 pages introduction, 
115 pages text, 18 pages notes. Cloth, 40 cents. 

No. 10. Kolberg, Historisches Schauspiel in fiinf 
Akten, by Paul Heyse. Advanced. 112 pages text, 25 
pages notes. Cloth, 40 cents. 

No. u. Robert Blake (ein Seestlick) und Crom- 
well, zwei ausgevvahlte Aufs£tze, by Reinhold Pauli. 
Advanced. 2 pages preface, 93 pages text, 53 pages notes. 
Cloth, 40 cents. 

No. 12. Das deutsche Ordensland Preussen, by 
H. von Treitschke. Advanced. With map, 77 pages 
text, 62 pages notes. Cloth, 40 cents. 

No. 13. Meister Martin Hildebrand, by W. H. 
Riehl. Advanced. An easy volume. 3 pages intro- 
duction, 53 pages text, 35 pages notes. Cloth, 40 cents. 

No. 14. Die Lehrjahre eines Humanisten, by 
W. H. Riehl. Advanced. 55 pages text, 47 pages notes. 
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No. 15. Aus dem Jahrhundert des Grossen Krie- 
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Goethe's Italienische Reise. (selected 

Letters.) With introduction, 16 pages, map, text, 98 
pages, notes, 48 pages. Edited by H. S. Beresford- 
Webb, Examiner in German (Prelim.) to the University 
of Glasgow. Cloth, 50 cents. 



GERMAN PUBLICATIONS 3 

This selection does not profess to cover entirely new ground, as 
only a limited portion oi the letters is available for educational 
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editor deemed unsuitable or not sufficiently interesting, a large 
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selections. 

Two German Readers 
Easy Readings in German on Familiar 

Subjects. Consisting of 100 Easy German Stories, 89 
pages, with Exercises for re-translation, 31 pages, 
and English-German and German-English vocabularies, 
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Most of the pieces here have been adapted from English 
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such words as occur in daily life. The same words are frequently 
repeated with the view of impressing them on the memory. 

Beginner's German Translation Book. 

Consisting of German Stories and Anecdotes, 64 pages, 
with Exercises for re-translation, 50 pages, notes, 18 
pages, and German-English and English-German vocab- 
ularies, 99 pages. By H. S. Beresford-Webb, Examiner 
in German {Prelim.) to the University of Glasgow. 
Cloth, 50 cents. 

The object of this book is, first, to provide a Reading Book for 
beginners, — and for this purpose the passages in Part I. (pp. 1-9) 
have been adapted and arranged in such a manner as to introduce 
the reader gradually to the various forms and constructions of the 
language,— and secondly, to train the learner to utilize his stock 
of knowledge, acquired in translating from the German, by repro- 
ducing sentences similar to those he has read ; in other words, to 
encourage imitation and adaptation. A learner hears or reads a 
construction or phrase, understands it, but is unable, from want 
of practice or confidence, to use it himself. Very often this difficulty 
arises from the necessity of changing slightly the construction, 
and adapting it to what he is desirous of saying. The Exercises 
have therefore been compiled with a view to give constant practice 
in the development of this faculty, and though, of course, this is not 
all that is required when learning a language, it will go a long way 
towards overcoming the difficulties which present themselves to 
the intelligent learner. 



4 GERM AX PV&LICATXONS 

Maynard, Merrill, <5r» Co. publish also the following 
standard German books: 

Neuer Leitfaden. By Edwin F. Bacon, Ph.B., 
Professor of Modern Languages at the Oneonta State 
Normal School. This book meets a real want by its 
skillful employment of the natural or conversational 
method without the sacrifice of the grammatical thorough- 
ness essential to a complete knowledge of the language. 
It is divided into two parts : the first a conversation 
grammar arranged in concise single-page lessons, re- 
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collection of short stories, dialogues, and songs with 
music, to which is added a complete German-English 
vocabulary. 

It is believed that this book, being free from all the 
objections so often urged against the natural method, 
will contribute greatly to the popularity and spread of 
that method. It teaches the grammar ; but it is gram- 
mar by practice, not by rule. The twelve introductory 
lessons are a rare example of ingenuity in the conver- 
sational presentation of the elements of the language, 
and, in the hands of a skillful teacher, are calculated to 
prepare for rapid and intelligent progress through the 
admirable single-page lessons that follow. These lessons 
contain a clear outline, the essentials, of the grammar 
without that minuteness of detail which renders so many 
text-books in language too bulky for ordinary use or con- 
venient reference. Cloth, $1.25. 

Kostyak and Ader's Deutschland und 

die DeutSChen. The land where German is spoken 
and the people who speak it. An excellent German 
reader. Cloth, 75 cents. 

Neue Anekdoten : Leichte und heitere 

Stticke. A collection of amusing and instructive anec- 
dotes which furnish excellent material for reading and 
conversation. Boards, 40 cents. 

Maynard, Merrill, & Co., Publishers, 

29, 31 & 33 East Nineteenth Street, New York. 



JUL. 5 M9 



